Fatima Shockey

Monday, February 27, 2023 10:33 AM

Authorities in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo confirmed that the situation in the country had worsened due to heavy rains that led to flooding, killing 65 people and displacing more than 2,400, Brazilian newspaper “Oglobo” reported.

The Sao Paulo state government said in a statement overnight that 65 deaths, including 21 men, 17 women and 19 children, had been confirmed and the search for the missing was still ongoing, the newspaper pointed out. Reached 30 people.

The coastal resort of São Sebastião, 200 kilometers from the city of São Paulo, received 680mm of rain in 24 hours last weekend, more than double what was expected for the entire month and the country’s largest total.

The National Center for Natural Disasters Monitoring (Simadan) has warned residents of the São Sebastião region that “remaining landslides” are possible in the next few hours due to “scattering rains” expected in the region on Monday.

However “these events are not as widespread or large as last weekend’s events.

Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas acknowledged on Thursday that the system of alerting residents via text messages was not enough to prevent tragedy, and announced the installation of sirens in danger areas and construction of housing for the homeless.

Experts attribute these types of extreme events to a combination of the effects of climate change. In Brazil, 9.5 million people live in areas prone to landslides or floods.