Over 100 dead or missing in Brazil after heavy rains
STORY: Dozens of people have died in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, after days of heavy rains triggered major flooding and mudslides.
That’s according to a social media post on Sunday by the National Civil Defense service, which oversees the country’s emergency management.
It reported at least one other death in the state of Alagoas nearby and said dozens of others were missing, while thousands more have been displaced.
Brazilian armed forces were sent to Pernambuco to help with search and rescue missions.
In the hard-hit state capital Recife, families and neighbors waited anxiously as rescue workers dug for the bodies of their loved ones in the rubble.
This man was one of them.
“The search parties found the body of my sister there at 5:45 pm. They found her body there and four other bodies with her. They haven’t found my brother-in-law’s body yet.”
This woman said she was awoken by the loud noise of her neighbour’s house partly collapsing.
“The people of the community came to help. They were digging to try and find people. Then a second collapse happened. That’s when my neighbor’s whole house collapsed. The family died. The father, the two children, the wife all died.”
This is Brazil's fourth major and deadly flooding event in five months, after the nation spent most of 2021 in a severe drought.
It has provoked debate over the potential role of climate change in Brazil's volatile weather pattern and has raised questions over the country's often-haphazard urban planning.
