Heavy Rain Leaves 145 Cities In Emergency In Minas Gerais

On Sunday, a strong rainstorm continued to hit the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil, where 145 cities are in an emergency situation due to floods, landslides, and damage to infrastructure.

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Since the start of the rainy season in October, the Civil Defense has registered at least six deaths and about 17,000 evacuees from their homes due to the intense rainfall that is raging in the region. Brazilian authorities are also investigating the deaths of two people this weekend, which would also have been caused by the storm.

One of those victims was a 42-year-old woman who died when a house collapsed in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, which is the second most populous state in Brazil, with some 21.5 million inhabitants.

On Saturday, a serious accident also took place on Lake Furnas, where a huge rock wall from a canyon fell on four boats, leaving ten people dead and about 30 citizens injured. Civil Defense did not include these deaths in the balance of victims of the rains until the investigations are concluded.

The tweet reads, "River floods Rio Piracicaba City."

In Nova Lima town, a dam of a mine of the French company Vallourec overflowed and caused the cut of the highway connecting Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro. Besides forcing the evacuation of six people, this incident left a wounded citizen who had to be hospitalized.

As a precaution, the National Mining Agency (ANM) decided to stop the activities of the Vallourec mine due to the risk of collapse of the overflowing dam.

Local outlets also report that bad weather affected the circulation of trains on the Vitoria-Minas Railway (EFVM), especially in the Rio Piracicaba-Joao Monlevade section, which prevented the continuation of activities at the Brucutu mine and the Mariana complex.