Floods and landslides hit Brazil after heavy rains. Thousands of people lost their homes and had to go to emergency shelters – and the number of deaths is increasing.
The death toll in landslides following heavy rains in northeastern Brazil has risen to at least 120. Emergency services were still looking for missing people in the Recife area on the Atlantic coast, as reported by the television station Globo on Wednesday.
“Our work continues, we will not leave here until we have found the last victim,” said the leader of the rescue operation, Major Vieira de Melo.
Over 7,300 people were made homeless because of the severe storm. They were housed in 66 shelters in 27 communities. According to the government of the state of Pernambuco, more than 200 millimeters of rain per square meter had fallen in the greater Recife area within 24 hours.
In Brazil, there have been numerous deaths from landslides and floods in various states in recent months. At the end of February, more than 200 people died in Petrópolis in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro.
