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News > Latin America

The Tragedy in Petropolis Leaves 176 Brazilians Dead

  • Image of one of the areas affected by the landslides, Petropolis, Brazil, Feb. 21, 2022.

    Image of one of the areas affected by the landslides, Petropolis, Brazil, Feb. 21, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/ @rochaptrocha G1 Globo

Published 21 February 2022
Opinion

Since last Tuesday, the storms have caused a trail of destruction as they pass through the old Brazilian imperial city, where 117 people are still missing.

The heavy rains that devastated part of the Brazilian city of Petropolis have left 176 dead and some 200 injured citizens, in what is already considered the largest natural disaster in this municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

RELATED:

Death Toll from Petropolis Landslides and Floods Rises To 120

Since last Tuesday, the storms have caused a trail of destruction as they pass through the old Brazilian imperial city, where 117 people are still missing, according to data from the Fire Department as of Monday.

The human and material losses are greater than those caused by the rainy seasons in 1988 and 2011, when dozens of people also lost their lives. Over 500 firefighters are still trying to locate more victims, although their the work was interrupted this morning due to the rains and strong winds that still hit the region. Among the 176 deceased are at least 29 minors.

So far, about 850 people have been evicted from their homes and receive social assistance at one of the 20 support points installed in schools and churches. On Sunday, the Brazilian Navy finished setting up a field hospital and five low-complexity care stations in Petropolis.

The tweet reads, "Rains in Rio: Petropolis City looked like this today after a storm."

Petropolis Mayor Rubens Bomtempo announced that the removal of mud and debris will begin without interruption to ensure that economic activities can restart as soon as possible, especially in the center of the city.

“We will work 24 hours a day to speed up the cleaning. We will work with machines and trucks. I am sure that, together, the State government and the Municipal government will be able to give a faster response,” he said, adding that some downtown stores have already reopened their attention to citizens.

The Rio de Janeiro Urban Cleaning Company (COMLURB) sent a task force with 250 street sweepers to help clean the most affected streets, remove trees that obstruct roads, and collect antlers. The president of this company, Flavio Lopes, went to the city on Saturday to evaluate the conditions and make operational adjustments in his teams' work plans.

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