Brazil: a storm kills at least 36 in the south-east of the country

Record rainfall. A strong storm killed at least 36 people in several coastal localities in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, during the carnival weekend, according to the authorities. Almost all of the deaths so far have been recorded in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, located about 200 km from Sao Paulo, the local government said on Sunday (February 19th). Further north, in the coastal town of Ubatuba, a little girl died following heavy rains, he said.

The balance sheet is likely to increase further, warn the authorities. “Unfortunately, we are going to have many more deaths”deplored the head of Civil Defense of the State of Sao Paulo, Henguel Pereira, quoted by the Brazilian daily Folha de S. Paulo. In addition, some 228 people have been displaced and 338 others evacuated in this region of the south-east of the country, where a state of emergency has been declared in five municipalities.

2-year-old child rescued

However, the number of people injured and missing has not yet been specified by the authorities, who are still hard at work to help the survivors. The rescue of a 2-year-old child who was covered in mud and a pregnant woman in labor was particularly highlighted by the authorities. The teams “carry on into the night [de dimanche] and early [demain] morning search and rescue activities”added the government of Sao Paulo.

“Tomorrow I will travel to Sao Paulo to see the region and support the efforts in the face of this tragedy”, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Twitter.

He will travel Monday morning to the area affected by the storm after landing in Bahia around 10 a.m. (2 p.m. in Paris).