Landslides kill at least 58 in Petropolis, Brazil
Local government officials on Wednesday said heavy rain and landslides left at least 58 people dead in Petropolis, a city in a mountainous region of Brazil.
The downpour flooded city streets after rainfall on Tuesday exceeded expectations for the entire month of February.
The floods destroyed homes, left vehicles in ditches, and displaced more than 300 people.
Rescue teams are still searching for survivors.
Claudio Castro, the governor of Rio de Janeiro state, arrived on the scene Tuesday night.
"I think that it is not time yet to discuss numbers. Our work now is to try to find survivors in this horror scene, to clean and to rescue any bodies that are here."
Up to 80 houses were hit by landslides in an area called Morro da Oficina, according to authorities, who expect the death toll to rise.
Locals are working to clear city streets and buildings damaged by rain and mud.
Regiane Dias is a merchant in Petropolis.
“The water two meters high, very very very much, lots of water, lots of water, nobody has ever seen this, we've never seen anything like what happened here yesterday, i don't know what to say, we lost everything, total loss."
President Jair Bolsonaro, who is in Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, said he had spoken with officials to secure assistance to the city.
Since December, heavy rains have triggered deadly floods and landslides in northeast Brazil and Sao Paulo state.
