Brazil torrential rains triggered deadly flooding and landslides in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais leaving at least 23 people killed and dozens missing according to authorities on Tuesday.
The municipality of Juiz de Fora was the most affected where entire streets were swept away after a river burst its banks and homes collapsed under heavy mud and debris.
Officials said search teams were working through dangerous terrain to locate survivors as families waited anxiously for news about missing relatives.
Rising death toll and widespread destruction
Heavy rainfall struck Juiz de Fora and the nearby city of Uba late Monday causing sudden flooding and large landslides.
Officials confirmed that Juiz de Fora recorded 16 deaths and 43 missing while Uba reported seven deaths and four missing.
Images from the fire brigade showed residents clinging to electricity poles or waving for help from windows as torrents of water swept through neighborhoods.
Search teams race against time
Sniffer dogs and rescue crews searched collapsed structures and mud-covered areas. Local residents joined the efforts hoping to find missing family members.
One father Valtencir Coutinho told TV Globo that he was searching for his six year old daughter Sophia beneath the debris praying to find her alive.
Infrastructure overwhelm and official response
Lieutenant Henrique Barcellos of the Minas Gerais fire department said crews were responding to floods landslides structural risks and the overflow of the Paraibuna River.
Juiz de Fora Mayor Margarida Salomao declared a state of emergency describing the situation as extreme.
She said the city recorded 584 millimeters of rainfall this February the highest on record and noted that some neighborhoods were isolated due to at least 20 landslides.
Around 440 residents were forced to leave their homes and received temporary shelter support.
Federal government actions
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the federal government recognized the state of emergency and had placed national civil defense on high alert.
He said the priority was humanitarian aid restoring essential services and supporting reconstruction efforts.
Local residents expressed frustration at the scale of losses including Angelica Rezende Moreira whose restaurant was destroyed. She said everything was lost and called for state and federal assistance.
Wider impact of severe weather in Brazil
Brazil has faced repeated extreme weather disasters in recent years including large scale floods drought and intense heat waves.
In 2024 more than 200 people were killed and two million affected by severe flooding in southern Brazil considered one of the worst natural disasters in the country’s history.
In 2022 heavy rainfall triggered catastrophic flooding in Petropolis killing 241 people.
Experts link the increasing frequency and severity of such events to the effects of climate change.
Background on Juiz de Fora
Juiz de Fora a city of roughly 540 thousand residents is known internationally as the site where then presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in 2018.
Conclusion:
Authorities in Minas Gerais warn that the situation remains dangerous as more rain is forecast. Rescue operations will continue until all missing individuals are accounted for and damaged areas are secured.
