Petropolis adds 169 deaths due to rain and continues searches with difficulty

(Update with New Balance of Victims) Rio de Janeiro, Feb 20 A heavy rainstorm that devastated part of the Brazilian city of Petropolis (southeast) has already caused 169 deaths and nearly 200 injuries, while searches for dozens of disappeared people continued on Sunday. Among the great difficulties. The former “imperial city”, located in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, is slowly trying to return to normal life thanks to the intense social mobilization of volunteers, after experiencing the heaviest rainfall in almost a century. The storm has left a trail of destruction in its wake since Tuesday, in what is already Petropolis’ worst climatic tragedy, surpassing similar events in 1988 and 2011, when dozens of people also lost their lives. In addition to the 169 deceased, according to the Fire Department’s latest tally, the Civil Police has a provisional list of 126 missing, though other agencies are dealing with a smaller number. In fact, the number of missing persons decreased in the last hours, as the victims were identified and the data of about 850 evacuees receiving assistance at one of the support points set up in the municipality was exceeded. Risk of new slippage The search continues, however, under extremely difficult conditions. On Thursday, new rains were recorded which caused more flooding and left the land the rescue battalions are working on more disturbed. In the past six days, the Civil Defense has reported 775 landslide incidents. In addition, the Brazilian authorities activated the sirens again on Sunday due to the forecast of “moderate” rain in the coming hours. With this scenario, more than 500 firefighters working in the area had to interrupt their work multiple times over the weekend. They also had to work in poor visibility due to the intermittent presence of fog banks. Official sources reported that so far, 24 people have been rescued alive from under the rubble, in addition to more than 200 pets. “Teams are working to deal with new incidents, conducting inspections in affected areas, cleaning up the city, clearing roads, welcoming families and strengthening all our health units,” Petropolis Mayor Rubens Bombombo said in a note. . On the same Sunday, municipal authorities recommended the 300,000 residents of Petropolis not to leave their homes, except in cases of “extreme necessity”, to make it easier to clean the roads, turn them into a real swamp, and to be able to normalize traffic. In the process, 313 vehicles have so far been removed from the city’s rivers and streets that were violently dragged during the storm. Birth in complete tragedy In the midst of the massive devastation that befell Petropolis, life is also making its way. This Sunday, a child was born in a school that these days has turned into a support point for welcoming people left with nothing by disaster. Giovanna Cerqueira, a 19-year-old pregnant woman, approached where her mother is currently staying to alert her that she was in pain, according to the Petropolis mayor’s office. Immediately, the medical team that worked at that school moved into action. The manager said, “I was having strong contractions. We called the civil defense, who in turn called an ambulance, but there was no time. The baby was born here. It was the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen.” From Bom Jesus Parish School, Renata Zakarsk. Her name is Ann Alice. She and her mother are fine and are already resting in a hospital in the area. EFE cm/No