First Published Feb 18, 2022, 11:26 AM IST
BrMore than 100 people have been killed in two days of landslides and floods in the Brazilian city of Petrópolis. The city, located in the northern mountains of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was almost devastated by floods and landslides. The densely populated slopes were reported to have collapsed as low-lying areas and roads in Hell were submerged in heavy rains. Several houses were destroyed in the landslide. The cars were washed away. The landslide was triggered by heavy rains last Wednesday. The Brazilian National Civil Defense said 24 people had been rescued that night.
On Tuesday alone, 269 landslides were reported in the area, according to the Brazilian Civil Defense Secretariat. More than 439 people lost their homes. Hundreds of homes were destroyed. CNN reported that local officials said at least 110 people had been killed. According to Rio’s Civil Defense, 134 people are missing.
Members of the team were swept away during a disaster relief operation in the area on Wednesday. Efforts to rescue them are reportedly in progress. Videos shared on social media showed widespread damage and vehicles moving down the street.
“The situation is warlike,” Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro told reporters. The rescue squad wasn’t called for him, and Rio de Janeiro’s governor, Claudio Castro, said on Twitter: “The rescue squad wasn’t called for him.
It was the heaviest rainfall since 1932. According to statistics, the city received less than three hours of rain in just one day last month. Henrik Pereira, a local shopkeeper, told Archyde.com news agency that 100 percent of his property had been destroyed.
About 300 people were housed in schools and other relief centers. Donations will be made to find mattresses, food, clothing and masks for them. “I found a girl buried alive.” Wendell Pio Lorenco, 24, told AFP while at the relief center.
Petropolis, a hill station near Rio de Janeiro, was a summer vacation destination for nineteenth-century Brazilian kings. Today, it is a popular tourist destination. The governor said the city’s regal beauty was lost as houses and shops collapsed in the floods.
In January 2011, several storms pounded Petropolis and its environs. The BBC reports that 900 people died in the landslides and floods that day. Scientists say it is one of the areas most affected by climate change.
The rainfall on Tuesday followingnoon alone was higher than the average recorded in history. Heavy rains are reported to continue on Thursday as well. There are reports that this will increase the death toll and the number of missing persons. Only ruins of the city can be seen in the photos from the city.
Situated in the northern hills of the capital, Rio de Janeiro, Petropolis was one of the most popular cities during the nineteenth – century reign of Brazil. This place was known as the “Imperial City”. The city is famous for its palace architecture, magnificent theaters and museums.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has returned to Brazil via Hungary on a visit to Russia following the intensification of a natural disaster. And held consultations with the Ministers. He said the government would provide all necessary assistance to the victims of the disaster.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there has been an increase in the amount of rainfall and average rainfall in southern Brazil since the 1960s. Climate change and ozone depletion in the atmosphere continue to cause such phenomena.
The average global temperature is now 1.1 degrees Celsius higher than it was before industrialization. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, temperatures as high as 2 degrees Celsius might cause more intense and intermittent heavy rainfall and flooding.
Heavy rains in early February in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s economic center, have killed at least 24 people. It caused floods and landslides across the southeastern Brazilian state. More than 1,546 families were evacuated that day.
Two dams collapsed in floods in Bahia last November, displacing 62,800 people. Heavy rains also wreaked havoc in December. The last four months have seen heavy rainfall over Brazil.
