More than a month after the storm that destroyed entire neighborhoods and caused the death of more than 230,000 residents, the Brazilian city of Petrópolis suffered the tragedy again. At least five people died from the new floods caused by torrential rains last Sunday.
In addition to the deceased, the mudslide and the currents left at least four missing personsaccording to Civil Defense and the military fire department of Rio de Janeiro.
The new fact increased the seriousness of what was already the worst tragedy experienced in that mountain citywhere so far 233 of its inhabitants have lost their lives.
Until Monday morning, Civil Defense had registered 95 incidents in Petrópolis, most of them due to landslides. The crosses planted in a square in tribute to the victims of February were also washed away.
Videos recorded by local residents and viralized on social networks once again showed streets turned into fast-flowing rivers with the water destroying everything in its path, images similar to those recorded a little over a month ago.
The mayor’s office withdrew about twenty vehicles that had been dragged. “So far, the military fire brigade of Rio de Janeiro has received more than 50 calls for landslides and (requests for) rescue of people isolated in different points”said a statement from the local government.
Given the continuous alarms, the authorities activated twenty support centers on Sunday in the face of rain forecasts, where care was provided to 574 people early Monday morning.
About 150 soldiers carried out in the morning rescue tasks, with support of specialized search and rescue forces, among others. Some 28 people were rescued. The forecast for this Monday in the area indicates moderate to weak rains in the Petrópolis area.
One more piece of information shows the strength of Sunday’s storm: the town of San Sebastianin the municipality of Petrópolis, accumulated 403.6 millimeters in 10 hours.
Meanwhile, on the coast Angra dos Reislocated 180 kilometers from Petrópolis, two people died after a tree fell on their car as a result of the rains.
The city was hit February 15 for the worst storm since 1932, which caused landslides in neighborhoods built on the slopes of the mountains and floods, with a balance of 233 deaths. According to scientists, climate change is aggravating the frequency and intensity of these weather events.