At least 36 people have died in heavy flooding and landslides in the Brazilian state of So Paulo, according to authorities. This has caused some cities to cancel their annual Carnival celebrations.
The video showed neighbourhoods that were underwater, motorways that were flooded, and the trash left behind after houses were swept away. Rescue teams have had a hard time getting to survivors and clearing the roads.
Some places got more than 600mm (23.6 inches) of rain on Sunday, which is twice what was expected for the whole month. Felipe Augusto, the mayor of the hard-hit town of São Sebastião said –
“Search and rescue teams are not managing to get to several places, it is a chaotic situation.”
“We have not yet gauged the scale of the damage. We are trying to rescue the victims.”
Mr Augusto said that the situation in the town was still “extremely critical” because dozens of people were still missing and about 50 homes had collapsed and been washed away.
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At least 35 people were killed in So Sebastio, according to the state government, and a young girl was killed in Ubatuba, which is about 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the northeast.
Hundreds of people have been moved and taken to safety. A civil defence official told the newspaper Folha de São Paulo –
“Unfortunately, we are going to have many more deaths.”
Officials say that 338 more people have been moved out of coastal areas north of So Paulo after 228 people lost their homes.
A 180-day state of calamity was declared in six towns in the state: São Sebastião, Caraguatatuba, Ilhabela, Ubatuba, Guarujá and Bertioga.
State Governor Tarcísio de Freitas said he had released the equivalent of $1.5m (£1.2m) in funding to aid in disaster relief.
Events for Carnival were cancelled all along the northern coast, which is a popular place for wealthy tourists who want to get away from the big street parties in the cities.
The festival usually lasts for five days before the Christian holiday of Lent, and the colourful celebrations are a sign of Brazil.
Local media said that the largest port in Latin America, Santos, was also closed because winds were over 55 km/h (34 mph) and waves were over a metre high.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was in the northeastern state of Bahia for Carnival weekend, said that he would go to the affected areas on Monday.
In a tweet, he told people who had lost loved ones that he was sorry and promised to get authorities to work together to send help and rescue teams. Mr da Silva wrote –
“We are going to bring together all levels of government and, with the solidarity of society, treat the wounded, look for the missing, restore highways, power connections and telecommunications in the region.”
Heavy rain is expected to fall in the area again, which could make things even worse for rescue teams. As the effects of climate change start to show, extreme weather events like floods are likely to happen more often.
Last year, more than 230 people died in the city of Petropolis in the southeast because of heavy rain.
