Heavy rains in Brazil leave at least 84 dead and dozens missing

The strong rains in the state of Pernambuco, in the northeast of Brazilhave already left 84 dead and dozens of people still follow disappeared. This is the biggest disaster of the last 50 years in Recifethe regional capital, according to official sources.

The governor of the state of Pernambuco, Paul Camara, said that 79 of the 84 victims died between Friday night and Sunday, when heavy rains were recorded in the state, mainly in the Recife metropolitan region. Camara specified that the exact number of disappeared is still unknown, although according to the latest bulletin from the Government of Pernambuco there were 56 people unaccounted for.

Of the total deaths from landslides and floods, the majority were registered in the metropolitan region of Recife, the most affected by the storm that has punished the northeast of Brazil since the beginning of this week. The most tragic episode took place in the Jardim Monte Verde neighborhood, on the border between Recife and Jaboatao dos Guararapes, where 20 people died when a landslide took ahead dozens of houses built on small hills.

The situation this Sunday was desolation. Reginald Ramos survived the tragedy, but lost 11 relativesamong them to his daughter 31 years old, recently trained in Engineering and who had started working 15 days ago. “Me and my wife were in the kitchen and we managed to be rescued, because she only buried the lower part of our body. My daughter was in the room and she was completely buried“, Reginaldo, still in “shock”, told Efe. “I lost everything, but most importantly my daughter, who is still buried. I spoke to the firefighter lieutenant and showed him where she is, but access is difficult,” lamented Reginaldo, who had lived in the area for three decades.

Risk of more tragedies

The firemen, the Army and the neighbors, mainly young people, continued with the searches while the rain punished the region again after a small truce and at least one person was found dead in Jardim Monte Verde. While some neighbors searched for bodies in the mud, others, in tears, removed from their homes what little remained of a storm never seen before.

The president of the Neighborhood Association of Jardim Monte Verde, Elvio Miranda, warned of the risk of new and imminent “tragedies” in the area if the regional authorities do not definitively evict the families that live in this humble neighborhood. “Must withdraw families of risk areas and find new homes for them because if not many tragedies are going to happen in Recife. There’s a imminent risk and the probability of other tragedies occurring is great,” said Miranda, 58, in statements to Efe.

The Mayor of Recife, joao fields, described the situation as “extremely challenging” and pointed out that the meteorological phenomenon “is completely atypical” at that time of year. “Unfortunately, it is the biggest disaster in the last 50 years recorded in the Recife metropolitan region,” Campos stressed.

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In addition to the dead and missing, the rains left more 4,000 people evictedmany of whom lost their homes, according to the Minister of Regional Development, Daniel Ferrera, during a press conference in Recife. Ferreira traveled there together with a delegation made up of the Minister of Health, Marcelo Quiroga; Tourism, Carlos Britoand Citizenship, Ronaldo Bentowho flew over the region affected by the storm this Sunday.

– Tragedy of chuvas in PE and AL.

– O nosso Governo made available, from the first moment, all of our help to those affected, including the Armed Forces.

– In the second class (30/May) I left for Recife to, in loco, better understand the tragedy.

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) May 29, 2022

The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, will visit Recife this Monday to “learn more about the tragedy”, which occurs two and a half months after rainfall killed more than 230 people in Petrópolis, in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro. The president stated on his social networks that the Government made available “all its means to provide help to those affected, including the Armed Forces.”