By Isabel Teles and Sergio Queiroz
SAO PAULO/JUIZ DE FORA, Brazil, Feb 25 (Reuters) – The death toll from the heavy rains in Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais has risen to 46, according to figures released by the state fire department on Wednesday.
Flooding and landslides displaced around 3,600 people in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 110 km (68 miles) apart, while 21 people remain missing, the fire department added.
Juiz de Fora resident Ricardo Dutra was comforted by relatives and friends on Wednesday during the funeral of his 11-year-old son Bernardo Lopes Dutra, while worrying about the condition of his daughter and wife, both hospitalized.
“I’m trying to pick up the pieces,” he said.
FEELING OF POWERLESSNESS
As the rains eased on Tuesday evening, authorities and volunteers worked to assist residents who lost their homes and loved ones in the flooding.
Juiz de Fora Mayor Margarida Salomao urged people living in high-risk areas to leave and seek help at shelters set up by the city government, which is still in a state of calamity.
Brazil’s federal government has sped up relief and humanitarian aid to the region, sending health agents and national defense professionals, according to a statement.
“No matter how hard you try, at some point you feel powerless. You witness a situation like this – people trapped in the rubble – and there is nothing more you can do, your contribution has a limit,” said Nalvan Luiz, a friend of Bernardo Dutra, at the funeral.
Much of Brazil enters the peak of its rainy season during summer, from December to March, bringing frequent intense downpours, thunderstorms, flooding and mudslides.
The Juiz de Fora city hall said this has been the rainiest February in the city’s history, with rainfall already more than double the amount expected for the month.
(Reporting by Isabel Teles in Sao Paulo and Sergio Queiroz in Juiz de Fora; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
