Monitoring Desk
BRASILIA: The death toll from floods and landslides in southeast Brazil has surged to 54 people, authorities said Friday, as Pope Francis sent condolences message.
“So many of you are missing, and several have suffered… I send you my closeness and prayers. May God bless you,” Pope Francis said in a video broadcast by the official web portal Vatican News.
According to the Sao Paulo state government, around 30 people are still missing after heavy rainfall in 24 hours on the beach resort town of Sao Sebastiao and surrounding parts last weekend.
Authorities said the most extensive daily rainfall ever registered in Brazil triggered flash floods and landslides that stormed through precariously built hillside communities.
The Sao Paulo state government said that 54 deaths had been confirmed, including 15 children.
Brazil’s high-risk areas
Search and rescue operations are underway in areas where around 4,000 people were displaced from their homes.
An estimated 9.5 million of 215 million people in Brazil live in areas at high risk of landslides or flooding — mainly poor favela neighborhoods.
A series of deadly weather calamities have hit Brazil in recent years, which experts say are likely being made worse by climate change.
