Brazil
Dozens missing in southeastern São Paulo state as rescue workers search for bodies in the rubble of homes
agencies
Thursday 23 February 2023 at 01:24 GMT
Search and rescue teams raced to find dozens of people missing after heavy rains ravaged coastal areas of the southeastern Brazilian state of São Paulo, as the official death toll rose to 48.
“We are currently working with a list of at least 38 missing persons,” São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas told reporters on Wednesday, as weather forecasters warned more rain was on the way.
Massive downpours have caused landslides and flooding in coastal cities in Brazil’s wealthiest state, which has so far been hit by more than 600 mm (23.6 inches) of rain, the highest cumulative figure on record in the country.
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The death toll rose from 46 the day before, the São Paulo state government said in a statement. Rescue operations continued and firefighters, police and volunteers still hoped to find living people in the rubble of homes hit by the landslides. According to the São Paulo state government, 1,730 people have been displaced and 1,810 made homeless.
The city of São Sebastiao, about 200 km (124.3 miles) from São Paulo, bore the brunt of the human casualties, with 47 of the reported deaths. But nearby cities like Ilhabela, Caraguatatuba, Bertioga, and Ubatuba were also badly affected.
The state government said more rain was expected on Wednesday as a new cold front favored the formation of heavy clouds over the region, with “moderate to heavy showers” falling into early evening after a cloudy morning.
Rescue workers transport the body of a victim after floods in Barra do Sahy, São Sebastiao. Photo: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images
Major roads like the Mogi-Bertioga and Rio-Santos highways remained blocked due to landslides, the government added, while state-owned water company Sabesp managed to restore supplies to the region.
Government and private relief groups struggled to provide essentials, but the logistics of reaching the outlying towns proved difficult.
Homeless people are accommodated in schools, kindergartens and churches in São Sebastiao. According to the state government of São Paulo, around 7.5 tons of relief supplies, including food, water and hygiene kits, have already been distributed to the victims.
But not all relief supplies have reached their destinations as criminals take advantage of the chaos and loot trucks carrying donations, De Freitas told G1 news agency.
Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva on Wednesday visited Barra do Sahy, a neighborhood in the hardest-hit mountainous coastal municipality of São Sebastiao. There she was confronted by a local resident, Resident Reuri Nascimento, who told Silva he removed 22 bodies with his quad bike. He complained that victims of the floods and landslides had been abandoned and said supplies were not reaching them.
“Why aren’t the police here to help us? There are groceries, we don’t know where the groceries go,” he said.
A damaged house in the Juquehy district of the city of São Sebastiao. Photo: Sebastião Moreira/EPA
Silva said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government is working to improve the situation. “We must work to adapt the city and focus on the poorest who live near the hills,” Silva said.
On Wednesday, a local court granted the state of São Paulo and the municipality of São Sebastiao permission to coerce residents from high-risk areas who refuse to relocate as a last resort, the São Paulo state government said.
The floods in the coastal state of São Paulo were the latest in a series of such disasters to hit Brazil recently, where poor construction quality, often on slopes, can have tragic consequences during the country’s rainy season.
Portal and Associated Press contributed to this report
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