“So far, 64 dead have been confirmed,” among which “20 men, 17 women and 18 children have been identified,” according to Sao Paulo state authorities. Sao Sebastiao, a seaside resort located 200 kilometers from Sao Paulo, received nearly 680 millimeters of rain in 24 hours at the end of last week. This is more than double the average monthly rainfall, and the highest cumulative volume in one day ever recorded in Brazil, according to authorities. A week after the storm causing floods and landslides, one person was still missing, according to civil defense, and more than 2,400 people have been displaced, according to the latest report made public on Sunday February 26 by the authorities.
The governor of Sao Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, admitted on Thursday that the population alert system by SMS messages was not sufficient and announced the installation of sirens in risk areas and the construction of housing for the without -shelter.
Experts attribute these extreme events to a combination of the effects of climate change and uncontrolled urbanization. In Brazil, 9.5 million people live in areas prone to landslides or floods, many of them in favelas lacking basic sanitation, according to the country's National Natural Disaster Monitoring and Warning Center. , Cemaden.
