Brazil landslide, flooding kills at least 36 people along coast, rescuers continue to search for survivors

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Hundreds of rescuers searched Monday for survivors of landslides and flooding that killed at least 36 people along the coast of Brazil’s southern state of Sao Paulo following a huge weekend downpour.

Worst hit was the city of Sao Sebastiao, where at least 35 were dead. In neighboring Ubatuba a 7-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.

Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas told television network Globo that another 40 people were missing. Nearly 800 people were homeless and 1,730 people have been displaced, his state government said in a statement.

Television footage showed flooded homes with only their roofs visible. Residents used small boats to carry items and people to elevated positions.

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A woman who gave only her first name, Mailsa, said she and her husband, daughter and grandson only barely escaped when a landslide destroyed her house in the Juquehy municipality of Sao Sebastiao. The house was partially submerged, parts of it fell away and the rest was left precariously perched on the edge of a hill.

"It was very quick. Either you run or you die," she said. "It’s not possible to take anything, only your life, which is the most important thing."

Members of the 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.

Rescue workers search for survivors after flooding caused landslides near a beach in Sao Sebastiao, Brazil, on Feb. 20, 2023.  (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

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"Our rescue teams are not managing to get to several locations. It is a chaotic situation," Sao Sebastiao Mayor Felipe Augusto said on social media late Sunday night.

Augusto said about 50 houses collapsed in the city due to the landslides, and he posted several videos of destruction and search efforts, including one of a baby being rescued by locals lined up on a flooded street.

The highway connecting Rio de Janeiro state with Sao Paulo’s port city of Santos was blocked by landslides and floodwaters.

Precipitation in Sao Sebastiao had surpassed 23.6 inches during a 24-hour period over the weekend, among the largest such downpours ever in such a short period in Brazil.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited the region on Monday. He observed the damage in Sao Sebastiao from a helicopter and met with Gov. de Freitas at Sao Sebastiao’s theatre, where search operations were being coordinated.

De Freitas declared a state of emergency for the hardest-hit cities, including Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela and Bertioga, which enables expedited allocation of funds for relief. He said $1.35 million already had been released.

The heavy rain affected water, electricity and phone services, according to a statement from the state government, which posted on Twitter a video showing 30,000 liters of water being transported to Sao Sebastiao. Hygiene kits, blankets, sleeping bags, mattresses and medical supplies have also been sent.

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The Transport Ministry said in a statement there would be no lack of financial and material resources.

The affected area, on the northern coast of Sao Paulo state, is a frequent Carnival destination for wealthy tourists who prefer to stay away from massive street parties in big cities.