Dez people died and at least three disappeared as a result of storms that hit Brasil since last Friday. Most of the victims are concentrated in Pernambuco, where six deaths were recorded, while Paraíba and Rio Grande of Sul also face serious consequences from the heavy rains.
The state of Pernambuco recorded six confirmed deaths, four of them being members of the same family who experienced tragedy over the course of two days. On Friday (1st), a landslide hit a residence in the neighborhood of Dois Unidos, Zona Norte of Recife, killing Jaqueline Soares of Silva, aged 24, and his son Riquelmy Soares of Silva, aged 6. On Saturday (2), Silva Barbosa’s one year and six month old baby daughter, Maria Helena Soares, succumbed to her injuries in Restauração’s Hospital and passed away. The father, José Rodrigues of Silva, suffered injuries and was hospitalized.
Desmoronamentos and Pernambuco throttling
Em Olinda, in Grande Recife, another landslide killed Bruna Karina from Silva, aged 20, and his son Pietro from Silva, just six months old, buried in Passarinho’s neighborhood. The bodies were removed from the rubble after hours of searching. A third death was confirmed after a 34-year-old man was found in a stream in São Lourenço of Mata. Desaparecido since Friday night, the body was located at Rua Imaculada Conceição, in the Capibaribe neighborhood, after drowning.
The rains also left 1,906 people homeless in the state of Pernambuco alone. The capital of Pernambuco recorded significant rainfall during days of intense rain that hit different municipalities.
Tragédias on Paraíba affect hundreds of families
Paraíba faced severe storms that resulted in the displacement of around 1,800 families to public shelters. Em Guarabira, two men died from electrocution while preparing a street race in honor of Dia of Trabalhador. The identities of the victims have not been confirmed.
In the capital of Paraíba, João Pessoa recorded 219 millimeters of rain in just 48 hours, according to data from Centro Nacional from Monitoramento and Alertas from Desastres Naturais (Cemaden). In the Engenho Velho community, eleven families were displaced and had to be relocated to a school in Gramame. Santa Rita, in Grande João Pessoa, suffered severe flooding that affected infrastructure and housing in the region.
Naufrágio and electrocution on Rio Grande from Sul
Quatro fishermen faced shipwreck in Lagoa of Patos, in Pelotas, during heavy rains. A body was found by firefighters on Saturday morning (2) at 10:50 am. The search for the three missing continues with the support of Marinha. Firefighters were called on Friday night by witnesses of the accident.
Também on Rio Grande on Sul, Éverton Duarte Köhler, aged 24, died from electrocution on Cangaçu. The farmer was at home holding his baby son on his lap and was using his cell phone connected to the charger when he suffered an electric shock. Foi was taken to Hospital from Caridade in the municipality by his family, but he succumbed to his injuries.
Impacto in cities in Rio Grande do Sul
The damage caused by the rains affected at least 19 municipalities in Rio Grande and Sul. On Thursday (30), the state’s Defesa Civil had issued warnings of the possibility of hail with large diameter stones, intense rain and wind gusts of up to 90 kilometers per hour. The warnings also mentioned the risk of lightning storms in different regions.
Cronograma of occurrences
The storms began their devastating effects on Friday (1st), the holiday of Dia of Trabalhador, hitting locations in three states simultaneously:
- Sexta Friday (1st): Deslizamento in Dois Unidos leaves mother and son dead; throttling in São Lourenço from Mata; electrocution in Cangaçu; sinking of Lagoa of Patos; electrocution in Guarabira
- Sábado (2): Morte of baby daughter in hospital; body found in stream; fisherman’s body rescued; confirmation of homeless in João Pessoa
The status of Pernambuco remains on alert with 1,906 people displaced and entire communities still assessing structural damage. Paraíba counts approximately 1,800 displaced families. No Rio Grande of Sul, search operations for the three missing fishermen remain ongoing.