Despair, solidarity for Brazil storm victims

Holding the few possessions they are able to carry, families stream down the slopes of the hillside neighborhood of Alto da Serra, many in tears, fleeing the devastation left by deadly landslides in the Brazilian city of Petropolis.

Their modest neighborhood was one of the hardest hit by Tuesday's storms, which dumped a month's worth of rain on this scenic tourist town in a matter of hours, triggering flash floods and torrents of mud that gushed violently through the city.

"It's devastating. We never could have imagined something like this," says one fleeing resident, Elisabeth Lourenco, clutching two bags in which she stuffed some clothing when emergency officials ordered everyone in the neighborhood to evacuate.

"When the rain was falling hardest, a huge amount of mud came pouring down the hillside, and some tree branches fell on my house," says the 32-year-old manicurist, on the verge of tears.

Nearby is a scene of total chaos. A giant swathe of hillside is covered in mud and strewn with the remains of shattered houses.

Authorities say the disaster killed at least 78 people across the city. There are fears the death toll, which rose steadily through the day, could climb further still as rescue workers continue digging through the mud and ruins.

Watching the rescue operation in disbelief, residents shudder with each deafening pass of the helicopters hovering overhead.

"I was eating dinner when the storm started. My brother came in and said, 'We need to get out of here, the hillside is collapsing,'" says Jeronimo Leonardo, 47, whose home sits at the edge of the area wiped out by the landslide.

- 'Up to our waists' -

Residents of Alto da Serra have been evacuated to a church that sits atop another hill nearby.

From the square outside the small blue building, they can see the disaster zone through the mist.

Dozens of families swarm the church, carting their belongings in bags.

Outside, volunteers unload a truck of bottled water, as others sort through donated clothing.

"Can I have some shoes?" asks a little boy standing barefoot, his clothes stained with mud.

Inside, mattresses line the floor.

"We started taking people in as soon as the tragedy started Tuesday evening. We're hosting around 150 to 200 people, including a lot of children," says Father Celestino, a parish priest.

Yasmin Kennia Narciso, a 26-year-old teacher's assistant, is sitting on a mattress nursing her nine-month-old baby.

"I didn't sleep all night," she says.

She tells the story of how she fled with her two daughters around 11:00 pm.

"We tried to leave earlier, but there were boulders strewn across the path and everything was flooded. We were in water up to our waists. We had no choice but to wait until it went down," she says.

She adds that she is still waiting for news on several neighbors.

"An older lady and her three grandchildren who lived just above us were buried in the mud."

Survivors know they likely face a long wait to learn if and when they can return home -- for those who still have homes left.

Torrential rain kills 78 in Brazil tourist town
Petropolis, Brazil (AFP) Feb 16, 2022 - At least 78 people were killed in devastating flash floods and landslides that hit the picturesque Brazilian city of Petropolis, turning streets into torrential rivers and sweeping away houses, officials said Wednesday.

Rescue workers raced to find survivors buried in the mud and wreckage after heavy storms Tuesday dumped a month's worth of rain in three hours on the scenic tourist town in the hills north of Rio de Janeiro.

There were fears the death toll, which rose steadily through the day, could climb further still as firefighters and volunteers dug through the remains of houses washed away in torrents of mud, many of them in impoverished hillside slums.

It is the latest in a series of deadly storms to hit Brazil in the past three months, which experts say are being made worse by climate change.

The state government said at least 21 people had been rescued alive. Using dogs, excavators and helicopters, rescue workers were urgently searching for more before it was too late.

Around 300 people were being housed in shelters, mostly in schools, officials said. Charities called for donations of mattresses, food, water, clothing and face masks for victims.

Wendel Pio Lourenco, a 24-year-old resident, was walking through the street with a television in his arms, heading to a local church in search of shelter.

He said he was trying to save a few possessions, after spending a sleepless night helping search for victims.

"I found a girl who was buried alive," he said.

"Everyone is saying it looks like a war zone."

Governor Claudio Castro said much the same after visiting the scene.

"It looks like a scene from a war. It's incredible," he told a news conference.

He praised rescue workers for managing "to save a large number of people before it was too late."

Videos posted on social media from Tuesday's rains showed streets in Petropolis, the 19th-century summer capital of the Brazilian empire, fill with violent floods that swept away cars, trees and nearly everything else in their paths.

Many shops were completely inundated by the rising water, which gushed down the streets of the historic city center, leaving jumbled piles of overturned cars in its wake.

Officials said more than 180 firefighters and other rescue workers were responding to the emergency, aided by 400 soldiers sent in as reinforcements.

City hall declared a "state of disaster" in the city of 300,000 people, which sits 68 kilometers (42 miles) north of Rio.

The city council declared three days of mourning for victims.

- 'Tragedy' -

Petropolis is a popular destination for tourists fleeing the summer heat of Rio.

The area is known for its leafy streets, stately homes, imperial palace -- today a museum -- and the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains.

Tuesday's storms dumped 258 millimeters (10 inches) of rain on the city in three hours, nearly equal to all the rainfall from the previous month, the mayor's office said.

The heaviest downpour had passed, but more moderate rain was expected to continue on and off for several days, authorities said.

President Jair Bolsonaro, on an official trip to Russia, said on Twitter he was keeping abreast of the "tragedy."

"Thank you for your words of solidarity with the people of Petropolis," he told President Vladimir Putin after meeting the Russian leader.

"May God comfort (the victims') families."

Brazil has been swept by heavy rains since December that have caused a series of deadly floods and landslides.

Experts say rainy season downpours are being augmented by La Nina -- the cyclical cooling of the Pacific Ocean -- and by the impact of climate change.

Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, global warming increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall.

Last month, torrential rain triggered floods and landslides that killed at least 28 people in southeastern Brazil, mostly in Sao Paulo state.

There have also been heavy rains in the northeastern state of Bahia, where 24 people died in December.

Petropolis and the surrounding region were previously hit by severe storms in January 2011, when more than 900 people died in flooding and landslides.

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Death toll from Brazil storms rises to 28
Sao Paulo (AFP) Feb 2, 2022
Floods and landslides caused by torrential rains have killed at least 28 people in southeastern Brazil, with seven still missing, authorities said Wednesday. The death toll was up by four since Friday, with rescue workers still digging through the mud and the remains of landslide-wrecked houses in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil's industrial hub. At least four of the victims were children. Another 12 people were injured, and nearly 3,000 forced from their homes, authorities said. The seven mi ... read more