Brazil Flooding and Mudslide: Death Toll Rises to 117, 116 Missing in the Country's Mountain City

Brazil recorded a rising death toll as its mountain city Petropolis was hampered with flooding and mudslides caused by heavy rains that started on Tuesday.

As of Thursday, local officials told CBS News that around 117 people were confirmed dead, while 116 people remain unaccounted for following the tragedy.

Local officials added that the death toll for the tragedy is expected to rise, per ABC News.

"We don't know the full scale of this... It was a hard day, a difficult day" Petropolis Mayor Rubens Bomtempo said on Wednesday.

According to Rio police in a statement on Thursday, around 200 agents were dispatched to check the lists of the living, the dead, and the missing by visiting checkpoints and shelters and the city's morgue.

Brazil Flooding and Mudslide: Families Continue Search for Missing Loved Ones

Aside from flooding caused by the heavy rains on Tuesday, a landslide also occurred in the area, reports noted that survivors were digging in the rubbles of the tragedy to find their loved ones who disappeared after the mudslide.

One of the people looking for their loved ones under the land was salesman Felipe de Oliveira, who is looking for his brother and grandmother, CNN reported.

"They are buried, but we don't know if they are dead or alive... I tell myself that I find them alive. But I am prepared for the worst," Oliveira said.

On Wednesday, Rio de Janeiro's public prosecutor's office said that they compiled a list of 35 people yet to be located since the landslide occurred.

Search and Rescue teams were reportedly wading through the mud since Wednesday, as they scan for wreckage and survivors.

In a statement, Rio de Janeiro State Governor Claudio Castro said that their work will continue in connection to the tragedy.

"We will do the possible and impossible to save lives," Castro underscored.

Aside from the missing and death recorded in the mountain city of Brazil, Castro said that the flooding and mudslide caused by the heavy rains also left almost 400 people were left homeless.

"It's very sad to see people asking for help and having no way of helping, no way of doing anything," Rosilene Virginia, a Petropolis resident, said.

Authorities said that more than 180 residents who live in the at-risk areas were taking shelter in schools.

Brazil Flooding and Mudslide

According to reports, the flooding and mudslide occurred after Brazil's mountain city was hampered with heavy rains on Tuesday.

The state's fire department emphasized that 10 inches of rainfall showered the mountain city in just three hours. Governor Castro said in a press conference that the rains were the worst Petropolis experienced since 1932.

A video recording showed that two buses sunk into a swollen river as its passengers clambered out of the windows to save their lives. However, the report stressed that some of the passengers were washed away out of sight as they did not make it to the banks.

Another footage shared by a Twitter user @ChrisDHasan showed cars submerged in the flood.

Governor Castro that no one "could predict" the rain that hampered the mountain city.

According to forecasters, more rain is expected to hit Brazil's mountain city through the rest of the week.

On Wednesday, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that he spoke to the ministers and asked "for immediate assistance" that will be given to the victims.

Bolsonaro is expected to arrive in Petropolis on Friday.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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