Floods and heavy rains kill many in Brazil’s ‘Imperial City.’
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL: The government estimates that around 94 people have died in Petropolis. It is a historic Brazilian town in the mountains of Petropolis.
Local government officials announced on Wednesday following heavy rains led to mudslides that caused homes to be buried, flood the streets, and wash away buses and cars.
In the hills over Rio de Janeiro, Petropolis, also known as the “Imperial City” was the favorite summer retreat of Brazil’s monarchs during the 18th century.
There was no evidence of the regal splendors after the flooding destroyed its beautiful streets and destroyed the city’s Germanic structures.
The rain on Tuesday was more than the average for the whole month of February.
Hilda, a resident, says that she was grieving, waiting in the street next to the remains of her home, which she shared with eight other people.
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“I have lost my daughter as well as her five-year-old daughter, who hasn’t been located,” she said. “We were not prepared for this loss. Our city is gone.”
Within the Morro da Oficina neighborhood, as many as 80 homes were impacted by landslides, according to officials who anticipate the death toll will rise. Local Civil defense units were on the job on the spot.
“The situation is akin to warfare … Poles and cars hanging, cars that have flipped with mud everywhere, and lots of still water,” Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro told reporters onsite.
Petropolis City Hall has declared 3 days of mourning. The homeless were transported to shelters and schools. Over 300 people were forced to go to shelters and schools.
“The water rushed in extremely fast and with tremendous force. My loss was 100percent. We had a difficult life because of the pandemic and the less movement, but this tragic event is still happening,” said shopkeeper Henrique Pereira.
President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on a trip to Russia and Russia, posted on Twitter that he had requested ministers to aid Petropolis and victims of the storm.
“We are planning to provide the mayor with what could be offered,” Bolsonaro told reporters in Moscow and added that he’d offer federal money to help “restore traffic to that region.”
Since December, torrential rains have led to devastating floods and landslides in the northeast region of Brazil as well as Sao Paulo state, threatened to delay harvests in Brazil’s central-western region.
They also briefly led to the suspending of mining operations within Minas Gerais state. Minas Gerais.
Eric is a professional news editor, writer, and blogger for the last 10 years. He is working with NewsGater as an off-beat news editor cum writer.