By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least, 36 persons were at the weekend killed in landslides triggered by torrential rain in southeast Sao Paulo state in Brazil, during carnival, authorities announced on Sunday.
According to the state government of Sao Sebastiao, no fewer than 35 people died while a girl was also killed in the town of Ubatuba, a news reports said.
TV and social media footage from the town of Sao Sebastiao, showed the entire neighbourhoods under water, debris from hillside houses swept away by oozing earth, flooded highways and cars destroyed by fallen trees, among other damages.
“Unfortunately, we are going to have many more deaths,” the state civil defense 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.
Sao Paulo State Governor, Tarcisio de Freitas, declared a state of emergency in five towns along the coast after flying over areas devastated by the weather.
He has released amount of money to the equivalent of $1.5 million for rescue operations.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Twitter, that he will visit the area on Monday. He has been on holiday since Friday in the northeast state of Bahia.
Sao Sebastiao, 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Sao Paulo and where many people from the city spend the pre-Lenten holiday weekend on the beach, was hard hit, as a record 60 centimeters (nearly two feet) of rain fall in 24 hours, city officials said.
That is more than twice the amount that normally falls in a month. Carnival events in Sao Sebastiao and elsewhere were cancelled.
“We have not yet gauged the scale of the damage. We are trying to rescue the victims,” said Sao Sebastiao Mayor Felipe Augusto, calling the situation in the town “extremely critical.”
“We are working at nearly 50 residences that collapsed under the force of the water and there are still people buried,” he told Globonews.
