The death toll rises to 165 after an avalanche in the city of Petrópolis, Brazil

The death toll from torrential rains that triggered floods and landslides in the Brazilian city of Petrópolis has risen to 165, authorities said.

Rescuers and residents with missing relatives continued to dig through mountains of mud and debris in this town in the southeast of the country, in a scenario that President Jair Bolsonaro described on Friday as “almost war.”

Authorities have acknowledged that it is unlikely any more survivors will be found.

So far, 124 bodies have been identified, including 28 children, authorities said.

New storms left at least two other people dead, reported officials from the emergency services of the state of Espirito Santo, adjacent to Rio de Janeiro, where Petrópolis is located.

One person was crushed to death by a collapsing wall in the city of Alegre and another was swept away trying to recover a car from flooding in the city of Nova Venecia, authorities said.

The storms forced more than 1,200 people to evacuate their homes, they said.

These episodes are the latest in a series of storms hitting Brazil that experts say are being aggravated by climate change.

Pope Francis sent a message of condolences on Sunday after the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

“I express my closeness to the people affected in recent days by natural disasters, I think (…) in the area of ​​Petrópolis, in Brazil, devastated by floods and landslides,” he said.

“Lord, welcome the dead in peace, comfort the families and support those who offer help,” he added.

In the last three months, at least 219 people have died in the country due to rainfall, mainly in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro (southeast) and Bahia (northeast).

The rains turned the streets into raging rivers that swept away trees, cars and buses, and caused landslides in neighborhoods nestled on the slopes of the mountains that surround this city of 300,000 inhabitants, located about 60 km north of Rio de Janeiro.

In a few hours, a volume of water equivalent to a month of rain fell on Petrópolis, a picturesque tourist city that was the summer capital of the Brazilian empire in the 19th century.

then24.com