At least 44 killed and dozens missing in the wake of the flooding and landslides in the coastal Sao Paulo state.
Hundreds of rescuers searched on Monday for survivors of landslides and flooding that killed at least 44 people along the coast of Brazil’s southern state of Sao Paulo following a huge weekend downpour.
The worst hit was Sao Sebastiao city in the state of São Paulo, where at least 35 were dead. In neighbouring Ubatuba, a seven-year-old girl was killed. The disaster, in an area famous for beaches flanked by mountains, prompted cancellations in many cities of the Carnival festivities, now in full swing elsewhere in the country.
Governor Tarcisio de Freitas told television network Globo that 40 people were missing. Nearly 800 people were homeless and 1,730 people have been displaced, the São Paulo state government said in a statement.
TV footage showed flooded homes with only their roofs visible. Residents used small boats to carry items and people to elevated positions.
Armed forces joined the search and rescue efforts, aggravated by poor access to many areas after landslides blocked the snaking roads in the region’s highlands and floods washed away chunks of pavement in low-lying and oceanfront areas.
