At least 34 dead in Brazil floods
PETRÓPOLIS, BRAZIL: The death toll from floods in the Brazilian city of Petropolis in the hills above Rio de Janeiro rose to 34 on Wednesday morning, local authorities reported. “As of this morning, 34 deaths have been confirmed,” said the mayor’s office after the extreme rains of Tuesday afternoon in the ancient city, 68km north of Rio.
The state fire department said late on Tuesday that more than 180 soldiers were already working in the stricken Petropolis region, which saw hundreds of deaths from heavy rainfall in 2011.
The department said the area got 25.8cm of rain within three hours on Tuesday - almost as much as during the previous 30 days combined.
Footage posted on social media showed cars and houses being dragged away by landslides and water swirling through the city of Petropolis and neighbouring districts.
Petropolis’ city hall said in a statement that the heavy rains left “a high number of incidents and victims” and that rescue and recovery efforts were continuing.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on a trip to Russia, said on Twitter that he instructed his ministers to deliver immediate support to the afflicted. “May God comfort the family members of the victims,” he wrote.
Guatemala earthquake triggers rockfalls
An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck southwestern Guatemala early on Wednesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, uprooting trees and causing landslides.
The quake was at a depth of 96km, with the epicentre 16km east of Tiquisate, Guatemala, EMSC said.
Guatemala’s disaster agency, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction, pegged the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.8. Images shared by the agency on social media showed landslides and fallen trees blocking certain routes following the earthquake.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.