Brazil flooding and landslides leave 36 dead, cities cancel Carnival
- Carnival events cancelled as heavy rains in coastal areas of Brazil’s southeast cause flooding
- Sao Paulo state government said precipitation in the region surpassed 60cm in one day
Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain in Brazil claimed at least 36 lives in southeast Sao Paulo state, authorities said on Sunday.
The cities of Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela and Bertioga, some of the hardest hit and now under state of calamity, cancelled their Carnival festivities as rescue teams struggle to find missing, injured and feared dead in the rubble.
At least 35 people died in Sao Sebastiao, the state government said. A girl was also killed in the town of Ubatuba, news reports said.
“Unfortunately, we are going to have many more deaths,” the state civil defence chief, Henguel Pereira, told the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.
Another 228 people were left homeless and 338 were evacuated in the coastal region north of the city of Sao Paulo, the state government said earlier, as rescue crews raced to help those hit by the storm.
The authorities did not give a figure for how many people were missing or injured.