Rio de Janeiro (EFE).- A strong storm hit two municipalities in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, leaving at least 28 people dead and 40 missing, according to the Fire Department’s report on Tuesday.
The epicenter of this meteorological disaster is the municipality of Juiz de Fora, where 21 people have died, and 37 more are missing.
The rest of the fatalities and missing persons have been registered in Ubá, located 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from Juiz de Fora, where the passage of the storm caused such damage to Ubá that it is difficult to enter or leave the city.
Numerous landslides, destroyed bridges and roads, power outages, and flooded neighborhoods resulted from the intense rainfall in just one night, which forced about 700 inhabitants between Juiz de Fora and Ubá to abandon their homes.
500 security forces personnel, aided by search dogs, have rescued 98 people alive so far and are searching for the missing among the rubble of the 74 collapsed houses.
One of the most delicate situations is in the Parque Jardim Burnier neighborhood in Juiz de Fora, where a landslide buried a dozen homes.
“Here, we have five confirmed deaths. 10 people were rescued alive, and according to the population, 15 more are missing,” Demetrius, a major in the Minas Gerais Fire Department, told EFE.
Some neighbors are helping to remove the debris, while others watch from afar with fear as the mountain buries entire lives, amidst alerts on cell phones about new rains.
“It is a very sad moment. It rained the equivalent of the entire month’s volume in just a few hours,” lamented Minas Gerais Governor Romeu Zema at a press conference.
Thousands of people are without electricity or water. Several schools have been designated to house the displaced. The first trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including hygiene and cleaning kits, are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.
More rain expected in coming days
The weather forecast predicts more rain in the region in the coming hours. The deputy governor of Minas Gerais, Mateus Simões, has urged the population to take meteorological alerts seriously.
“People living in hillside areas must immediately leave their homes. The geological risk is serious,” he warned.
The storm is due to a cold front advancing over southeastern Brazil, an area where most of the country’s 213 million inhabitants live, and has put the entire region on alert.
Another cold front is expected to cause more intense rainfall on Wednesday.
As of Thursday, an area of low atmospheric pressure forming near the coast would increase instability in various areas of Minas Gerais, including the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, the state capital.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has ordered the “immediate mobilization” of his government to assist those affected.
While in Abu Dhabi for a layover after official visits to India and South Korea, the progressive leader arranged for a public health service team to be sent and expressed solidarity with the victims.
Climate catastrophes repeat
Brazil has experienced numerous extreme climate events in recent years, resulting from strong storms, particularly in the southern and southeastern regions of the country.
One of the most serious took place in May 2024 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where about 180 people died, and many cities, including the regional capital, Porto Alegre, were flooded for weeks.
In 2023, another severe storm struck the São Paulo coast, leaving 65 people dead.
Similar disasters took place in 2022, leaving thousands of people displaced and hundreds dead in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro.
In Feb. 2022, an intense storm in the city of Petrópolis, located in the mountain region of Rio, left about 240 people dead.EFE
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