At least 36 people dead as Brazil rains cause calamity

AFP

Heavy rains in coastal areas of Brazil's southeast have caused flooding and landslides that killed 36 people and dislodged hundreds of others, according to a statement from Sao Paulo state authorities.

Rescue workers continue to look for victims, reconnect isolated communities and clear roads, some of which remain blocked, trapping an undetermined number of tourists who travelled for Brazil's Carnival celebrations.

Weather forecasts show heavy rains will continue in Sao Paulo's coastal area, challenging civil defence and fire department rescue teams and raising the prospect of a higher death toll.

The federal government determined the mobilisation of several ministries to assist victims, restore infrastructure and start reconstruction work. Sao Paulo state declared a 180-day state of calamity for six cities after what experts described as an unprecedented, extreme weather event.

On Monday, Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas will meet federal officials as they coordinate the response to the tragedy, the statement said.

Operations at the port of Santos, Latin America's largest, were interrupted amid wind gusts exceeding 55 kpm and waves over one meter high on Saturday, according to a local news outlet.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was spending carnival in Bahia state in Brazil's northeast, is set to visit the main affected areas on Monday, his office said.

More from International news

  • Russia, Ukraine swap 307 soldiers on second day of POW exchange

    Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 307 of their service personnel on Saturday on the second day of a prisoner exchange that, when completed, is set to be the largest such swap in the three-year war between the two countries. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the prisoner swap - which should see 1,000 prisoners released on each side over three days - could herald a new phase in stop-start efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Saturday's swap was announced by Russia's defence ministry, and separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a post on social

  • Police probe arson attack in France power outage

    French police were investigating a possible arson attack as being the main cause for a power outage which hit the Alpes-Maritimes region in southern France on Saturday, including Cannes which is hosting its world-famous annual film festival.

  • Ukraine says 15 people hurt in 'massive' Russian attack on capital

    Russia launched dozens of attack drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight in one of the biggest combined aerial attacks on the Ukrainian capital of the three-year war, damaging several apartment buildings and injuring at least 15 people.

  • South Africa rescues all 260 miners stuck underground alive

    Rescuers on Friday pulled out all 260 mine workers who had been stuck for more than 24 hours in an underground shaft in South Africa, the mine's operator said.

News