SAO PAULO: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew on Monday to tour the resort region turned disaster zone where floods and landslides killed at least 36 people just as Brazil celebrated carnival, where dozens were still missing.
Rescue workers were rushing to find any survivors buried under the mud and rubble before it was too late, after hours of record rain devastated the area around the popular coastal city of Sao Sebastiao, around 200 kilometres southeast of Sao Paulo.
Lula’s office released a video of him flying in a helicopter over the area, where landslides triggered by the torrential downpours swept away at least 50 homes. Brown flood waters could be seen engulfing houses just inland from the emerald waters of the region’s pristine coastline.
The 75-year-old leftist leader, who took office for a third term last month, met Sao Paulo state Governor Tarcisio de Freitas.
Lula said on Twitter that government at all levels would work to “care for the injured, search for the missing and restore roads, energy and telecommunications.”
The Sao Paulo state government said the death toll stood at 36. 35 people killed in Sao Sebastiao, and a girl killed in the city of Ubatuba, just up the coast. “Around 40 people have still not been located,” Sao Paulo rescue department official Michelle Cesar said.
Amid the loss and destruction, authorities said a boy aged two was rescued from a sea of mud, as was a woman who was giving birth.
The rescue department said a total of 14 injured people had been rescued. Nearly 1,000 people were evacuated, while 747 lost their homes, authorities said. The disaster struck just as Brazil celebrated carnival weekend, which draws huge numbers of tourists to Sao Sebastiao and the surrounding area. — AFP
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