Heavy Downpours Leave 9 Dead And 11 Missing in Rio de Janeiro

The State of Rio de Janeiro, in southern Brazil, has been experiencing unusual downpours since the night of Thursday, March 31. The storm, which lasted until the early hours of Saturday morning, has claimed the lives of nine people. This tragedy comes after less than two months of the devastating tragedy in Petrópolis.

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Authorities have reported that at least one person died in Mesquita, in Baixada Fluminense. Another seven people were found dead after a landslide in Paraty, on the Fluminense Green Coast.

The ninth victim was reportedly a child in Angra dos Reis, in the extreme south of Rio de Janeiro state, according to the Ponta Negra Coastal Community Neighbors Association.

Five people were rescued by Civil Defense agents, but 11 are still missing, according to reports from relatives, informed the city of Angra, in a note released Saturday by the Fire Department.

According to the Civil Defense, in the last 48 hours, 655 mm of rain have been recorded in the mainland region and 592 mm on the island of Ilha Grande, in what is the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Angra dos Reis and its surroundings.

The 28 sirens of the warning system in risk areas sounded during the early hours of Saturday morning.

The heavy rains caused landslides that hit at least four houses in the Monsuaba neighborhood, in Angra dos Reis, on the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro.

In Rio de Janeiro, the Rio de Janeiro City Operations Center reported on Saturday morning that the municipality has returned to the mobilization stage, thanks to the reduction of the rains accumulated in the last hours.

The city had been in a state of alert since 18:15 on Friday 1 of April, when heavy rains caused flooding in different neighborhoods of the city.