Rio de Janeiro, Mar. 25, (dpa/GNA) – At least 25 people have died in severe storms in south-eastern Brazil.
Seventeen deaths were reported in the state of Espírito Santo, 15 of them in the town of Mimoso do Sul, news agency Agência Brasil said on Sunday citing the local civil protection agency.
The remaining eight victims were reported in the neighbouring state of Rio de Janeiro.
Four of the dead were killed by a landslide in the popular tourist resort of Petrópolis in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Agência Brasil reported earlier, citing the authorities.
Heavy overnight rains had caused flooding, flash floods and landslides on Saturday. In Espírito Santo, which borders Rio de Janeiro to the north, more than 5,400 people were brought to safety, a spokesman for the civil protection agency said. More than 250 lost their homes.
Despite the continuing rain, rescue workers managed to reach areas cut off by the flooding on Sunday.
In Rio de Janeiro, emergency workers were able to rescue more than 90 people across the state, according to local government officials.
Forecasts continue to call for further rain. It is now late summer in the southern hemisphere and heavy rainfall is common in tropical latitudes at this time of year.
According to Agência Brasil, more than 300 millimetres fell in 24 hours in Petrópolis, which is located around 70 kilometres north of the coastal metropolis of Rio de Janeiro at an altitude of over 800 metres.