Authorities confirmed six new deaths this Wednesday in the passage of a cyclone in the south of the country, bringing the number of victims of the phenomenon to 27.
This is the biggest natural tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul, said Governor Eduardo Leite, who flew over the affected areas with a delegation from the government led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, led by his communications minister.
The state government told AFP the balance of “27 confirmed deaths”.
The heavy rain and high winds caused by the cyclone affected 67 cities and more than 52,000 people.
Hundreds of fire, civil protection and military police officers, in addition to volunteers, continued the work of rescuing and unblocking access to various locations, which became incommunicable.
“There was no lack of resources and total commitment from the Brazilian government to help Rio Grande do Sul get out of this sad situation,” Communications Minister Paulo Pimenta wrote in X (former Twitter).
The minister, who had announced the day before that four helicopters would be sent in addition to the three helicopters the state had already mobilized for relief duties, said he will ask for more aircraft.
Among the dead is a woman who lost her life after falling into a river after the cable the rescuer was using to save her broke.
The authorities warn that new disasters could occur in the region: some rivers have flooded and new rain showers are expected from Thursday.
Brazil regularly has to deal with extreme phenomena and scientists do not rule out a relationship with the consequences of climate change.
In June, another cyclone in Rio Grande do Sul killed at least 13 people, while thousands were evacuated or lost their homes.
In February, 65 people died after landslides triggered by record rainfall in São Sebastião, a tourist resort about 200 km from the city of São Paulo.
On that occasion, more than 600 mm of rain fell in 24 hours, more than double the amount expected for that month.
Experts also attribute the devastating effects to uncontrolled urbanization.
About 9.5 million of the 203 million inhabitants live in risk areas that are subject to landslides and flooding.
Source: DN
