Landslides Kill At Least 16 People in Rio de Janeiro State in the Aftermath of Massive Flooding and Heavy Rain

Extreme rainfall over recent days resulted in severe flooding and colossal landslides in two regions in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday, April 2.

A total of at least 16 people, including seven children, have been reportedly killed after being swept by raging flash floods and being buried by the rockfall.

Landslides and Flooding

Residents of the Baixada Fluminense and Costa Verde regions of the Brazilian state experienced the weekend's catastrophic events after record-breaking rainfall of more than 800 millimeters, as per the natural disaster monitoring site Floodlist.com.

More than 200 families in 22 neighborhoods have been affected by the events, which also caused the displacement of some residents and their transfer to temporary settlements.

On Saturday, local authorities declared a State of Public Calamity to allow the prioritization of relief and recovery efforts.

Affected Areas

In the town of Paraty, seven children, aged between two and 17, were with their father when the mudslide lethally struck them, according to local authorities, as per CNN.

More than four people were injured and over 70 families were displaced in the town.

Travel in Paraty has also been affected as mudslides blocked some streets and isolated several parts of the town, according to Paraty Mayor Luciano Vidal, as cited by Reuters.

The displaced families were also given shelters and rented hostels.

In the municipality of Mesquita, torrential rain killed a 38-year-old man after being electrocuted to death.

The event transpired when the man was reportedly in floodwaters attempting to save another person. Municipal authorities have launched a probe into the incident.

In the city of Angra dos Reis, civil defense and fire officials stated that although five people were rescued, a girl and a teenager were killed, and nine people went missing following the flash floods, as per the US media agency's affiliate CNN Brazil.

Previous Natural Disasters

Some communities in Brazil are still recovering from the security and natural hazards caused by landslides and floods triggered by intense torrential rain over recent months.

In February, inclement weather caused several days of rainfall in the Petropolis area of the state, killing a total of more than 230 people due to mudslides and flash floods.

In March, a memorial for the said victims of the natural disasters was destroyed by the same phenomenon.

Deforestation

In recent years, Brazil has been plagued by the decreasing population of its trees, especially in the Amazon Rainforest; as trees are known to greatly absorb water, notably during times of flooding.

Indigenous communities in the country have also gathered to raise their voice against the government.

In a January report, a record-breaking 430 square kilometers (166 square miles) area of trees was cut down in the Brazilian Amazon.

The data significantly exceeded the deforestation, making it five times greater than January 2021, as per the government satellite data, as cited by the BBC.

Environmentalists have accused Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro of allegedly tolerating the acceleration of deforestation in the Amazon.

During the 26tg annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021, Brazil is one of the many countries that pledged to impose efforts against deforestation and protection of forests, as per the College of Natural Resources News of North Carolina State University.