Several dozen deaths in Sao Paulo due to rains

First modification: 02/20/2023 – 10:50

In the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, located about 200 km from the capital of São Paulo, 35 deaths have been registered so far, the state government reported in a statement at the end of the day. Meanwhile, a girl died in the town of Ubatuba, he added.

“Unfortunately we are going to have many deaths,” said the head of the state’s Civil Defense, Henguel Pereira, in statements published by the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper.

In addition, there are some 228 evicted people and 338 evacuees in the coastal region north of the capital, where a state of calamity was declared in five municipalities.

The number of injured and missing was not specified by the authorities, who are working around the clock to help the victims.

The teams “continue during the night (of this Sunday) and early morning with the search, rescue and salvage activities,” said the Sao Paulo government.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will visit the affected area in the morning, after landing from Bahia around 10 am (1300 GMT) in Sao Paulo, his office reported.

“Tomorrow (Monday) I will go to Sao Paulo to visit the region and accompany the efforts to face this tragedy,” the president, who has been resting since Friday, wrote on Twitter.

The scenario is bleak in Sao Sebastiao, where some 50 houses were washed away by water and “there are still people buried,” said the mayor, Felipe Augusto.

That municipality, on whose beaches many São Paulo residents spend the carnival holiday, was the hardest hit: more than 600 mm of rain fell in 24 hours (more than double what was expected for the month), indicated the mayor’s office.

Those volumes were “exceptional and record,” said Augusto, who described an “extremely critical” situation.

The National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) maintains heavy rain alerts in the region until Monday morning.