Xinhua 2023:02:27.08:40
SAO PAULO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) — The death toll on the coast of Sao Paulo state in Brazil’s southeastern region rose to 64 a week after landslides and flooding caused by heavy rains, state authorities reported Sunday.
The state of Sao Paulo said in a statement that 18 were minors among the 64 deaths recorded so far.
“The focus continues to be on helping the victims,” the statement said, in which the civil defense’s approach was also described in detail.
On February 19, the coastal communities of Bertioga, Caraguatatuba, Guarujá, Ilhabela, Sao Sebastiao and Ubatuba recorded the most intense rains ever recorded in Brazil in less than 24 hours.
The beach area of Sao Sebastiao, one of the most exclusive destinations in Brazil’s tourism sector, saw more than double the rainfall for the whole of February.
In the area where the floods and landslides occurred, elements of the army, firefighters, volunteers and rescue workers are still searching for people who are still missing.
Most of the fatalities lived in slums in risk areas, on the slopes of the Sierra de Mar, near Barra do Sahy, one of the beaches in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao.
Some 2,440 people who have lost their homes have had to be evicted from the area due to the risk of new landslides, while coastal roads reopened this Sunday after being damaged and blocked by landslides for a week.
The highway connecting Mogi da Cruzes to Bertioga in Sao Paulo state will be closed for six months after rains destroyed the drainage system.
The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has offered financial support to families living in at-risk areas and included them in the My House My Life housing program.
The offer was made on Saturday during a visit to the affected area by Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who is also Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
Meanwhile, the São Paulo state government has urged the population to avoid tourism on the coast so as not to cause disruption between the local population and the service sector, and to unblock local highways.
According to the Brazilian Ministry of Integration and Regional Development, an estimated 4 million Brazilians live in 14,000 risk areas in the South American country.
(Web Editor: Rosa Liu, Zhao Jian)