44 Casualties After Torrential Rains in Brazil

Officials disclosed on Wednesday, that about 44 people died as a consequence of the torrential rains which caused flash floods and landslides in the Brazilian city of Petrópolis.

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Houses were swept away, as the streets turned into torrential rivers because of the devastating rains. The rescue team has achieved to find survivors buried under the mud and wreckage brought by the heavy storms.

According to the report, Tuesday's heavy rains of three hours lasting were the equivalent of a month's worth of rain over the tourist town located at the north of Rio de Janeiro. There are probabilities of an increase in the death toll while firefighters and volunteer rescue workers dug through the remains of houses washed away in torrents of mud, many of them in impoverished hillside slums.

According to the officials, about 300 people are being hosted in shelters, mostly in schools. Charities called for supporting affected people with donations of mattresses, blankets, food, water, clothing, and face masks.

A 24-year-old young man, named Wendel Pio Lourenco was helping to save some belongings, after many nights supporting the research team. "I found a girl who was buried alive," he said. "Everyone is saying it looks like a war zone."

"It's almost a war situation. We've mobilized our entire team," said Governor Claudio Castro. Shops were affected by the tragedy, getting completely inundated by the rising water.

The rescue team is composed of more than 180 firefighters and other rescue workers who were responding to the emergency, supported by 400 soldiers. State of the disaster was declared by the city hall as well in the city of 300 000 people, located 68 kilometers north of Rio.