Heavy rain in Recife (Brazil): At least 56 dead and 56 missing

The death toll from Tuesday’s torrential downpour has risen in the recife region of the capital, Bernambuco, in northeastern Brazil. On Sunday, regional authorities announced that 56 people were dead and 56 were missing.

“As of Sunday, 56 deaths have been confirmed and 56 are still missing in the municipalities of Recife and Olinda. There are also 3,957 homeless people,” Bernambuco Civil Defense said in a statement.

At a quiet time, about 1,200 people, including helicopters and boats, were on Sunday morning searching for missing and isolated people.

All were beaten

The storm caused landslides in the mountains, rivers overflowing and huge mudslides swept away everything in their path.

Footage released by local authorities on Sunday shows rescue workers and volunteers clearing debris at Jardim Monteverde on the border between Recife and Jaboatao dos Guararapes municipality.

The landslide that struck 19 people on Saturday morning in this rough area has caused great tragedy.

Slide to finish

Between Friday evening and Saturday morning, some parts of Bernambuco received 70% of the rainfall normally expected throughout May.

“Even though it has stopped raining now, we expect heavy rains in the next few days. So the first thing to do is to maintain defensive measures,” the minister, who flew in the disaster area, said. With other Brazilian officials. .

Brazilian President Jair Bolsanaro said he would travel to Recife on Monday morning to pursue the “tragedy”.

Regular

MetSul agency meteorologist Estael Sias told AFP that heavy rains affecting Bernabeu and four other states in the northeast of the country were the result of a common event at this time of year. , The “eastern waves”, or “atmospheric disturbance” zones, move from the African continent to the Brazilian coast.

“In other parts of the Atlantic, this instability creates hurricanes, but in northeastern Brazil it has the potential to create multiple rainfall, including thunderstorms,” ​​he explained.

The weekend films are reminiscent of the tragedy that killed 233 people during torrential rains and landslides in the state of Rio de Janeiro (southeast) in February.

According to experts, this type of tragedy is caused by the terrain of places and the presence of large slums with often illegally built dwellings in steep dangerous areas.

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