Petropolis was hit hard by a torrential rainstorm on Tuesday. Mayor Rubens Bomtempo warned that the death toll could rise as rescuers dig through the debris. Castro stated that 21 people were found alive and 400 people were left without homes.
Early Wednesday, civilians joined the official recovery effort. Priscila and her siblings were among them. They searched the mud for signs of their missing parents but only found clothing. Neves said to The Associated Press that she had lost all hope of finding her parents.
Rosilene Virgilio (49) was overcome with emotion as she remembered the desperate pleas of someone she couldn’t save.
“A woman screamed, “Help!” Get me out! We couldn’t do any; the water was gushing, the mud were gushing,” Virgilio said to The Associated Press. “Our city is unfortunately finished.”
Petropolis, a German-influenced metropolis named after a former Brazilian Emperor, is Petropolis. It is located in the mountains above the coast metropolis and has served as a refuge for tourists who want to see the “Imperial City” for nearly two centuries.
Petropolis is one of the first planned cities in the country and has stately homes along its waterways. However, the city’s population has grown at a rapid pace, with many small homes clustered together on top of each other. Many live in unsuitable areas, made more vulnerable by inadequate drainage and deforestation.
In recent decades, the mountain region that has been devastated by landslides has experienced similar disasters, including one that claimed more than 900 lives. Petropolis has presented a plan to reduce the risk of landslides in the years that followed, but progress has been slow.
Gov. Claudio Castro said Wednesday to reporters that the situation was “almost like war” and that it required him to use all of the heavy machinery provided by the state government in order dig the buried areas.
Castro stated, according to Reuters: “I believe that it is not the right time yet to talk numbers.” “Our task now is to search for survivors of this horror scene and clean up any bodies that may be there.
Late Tuesday, the state fire department reported that the area received 25.8 cms of rain in three hours Tuesday. This is almost the same amount as the previous 30 days. According to the Petropolis civil defense authority, moderate rain is expected Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Video posted to social media Tuesday showed cars being pulled away by landslides and water swirling through Petropolis, and nearby districts.
On Wednesday, Globo TV showed houses that were buried under mud in areas that firefighters had not yet been able access. Many streets were still unaccessible due to the accumulation of household goods and cars, which blocked access to higher areas of the city.
Emerson Torre (39), a bar owner, recalls, “The neighbors came running and I gave shelter to them,”
His roof collapsed under the weight of torrential water. His mother, three others and his father managed to get out of the bar just in time. However, one neighbor and the daughter of the victim were not able to escape.
It was like an avalanche. It fell at once. Torre said that he had never seen anything similar, as rescue helicopters flew overhead. “Every neighbor has lost someone they loved, has lost three, four, or more members of the same family, children.”
Three days of mourning were declared by the Petropolis city hall. While on a trip through Russia, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and his counterpart Vladimir Putin expressed solidarity.
He wrote that God should comfort the loved ones of the victims on Twitter.
Since the beginning of the year, heavy rains have hit Southeastern Brazil with over 40 deaths between incidents in Minas Gerais State in January and later in Sao Paulo.
Ten people were killed last month when a cliff fell onto tourists boats on a lake. The incident was captured on video . According to firefighters, heavy rain could have caused the collapse.
