Sao Paulo: At least 18 people were killed in torrential rains that lashed Brazil’s Sao Paulo state between Friday and Sunday.
“Since last Friday, 18 people, including seven children, have died and nearly 500 were homeless or displaced in an upheaval caused by bad weather,” the So Paulo state government said, citing the civil protection body.
After flying over the affected areas, Governor Joo Doria announced that he was releasing 15 million reals ($2.7 million) to help the 10 most affected cities and 645 municipalities in Brazil’s most populous state – where 46 million people live there.
Doria expressed “solidarity” with the families of the 18 victims.
Local press said 11 of the victims died on Sunday after landslides buried several houses in the state’s inner cities.
Civil Defense said there were also “nine injured and five missing”.
A police station, a bridge and houses in the Franco da Rocha municipality were flooded.
A woman and her two children, aged four and 21, were killed in a landslide at Embu das Artes.
Heavy rain was reported in the city of So Paulo – where 12 million people live – but no major incidents occurred.
“The entire state has been flooded due to rain, fallen trees, collapsed walls, landslides,” the civil defense said.
Since the start of the rainy season in October, Brazil has been severely affected by several major meteorological disasters.
In northern Bahia state, 24 people were killed and another 19 in southeastern Minas Gerais state, where thousands have been displaced.
Heavy rains have left Brazil’s indigenous group homeless again, killing seven people in Brazil after rocks fell on boats in the lake.