Brazil’s Lula visits flood zone as death toll from landslides hits 70
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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visiting the flood zone on Feb 28 and meeting local residents, in images from his X account.
SCREENSHOT, PHOTO: X/@LULAOFICIAL
- Torrential rains caused landslides in southeastern Brazil, killing 70 people, including 13 children, and leaving thousands homeless.
- President Lula visited disaster zones, hugging weeping children and promising extensive government aid to help rebuild lives.
- Record February rainfall, triple the usual, caused the landslides. Scientists link Brazil's extreme weather events to global warming.
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RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Feb 28 hugged weeping children and promised aid as he visited southeastern cities where 70 people have died in landslides caused by torrential rains.
Thousands were left homeless after mud swept away their houses
Firefighters said on Feb 28 that they were still searching for three missing people, while the police updated the death toll to 70, including 13 children.
Mr Lula flew over the disaster area before landing and meeting grief-stricken residents and officials.
He said in an Instagram post that he “was deeply moved by the pain and damage caused by the heavy rains that hit the region.”
“The Brazilian government will do everything possible to help the population rebuild their lives. We will not leave anyone alone in this fight.”
Brazil’s meteorological agency INMET told AFP that parts of the south-east were experiencing the rainiest February in years.
A backhoe loader clears mud and debris after landslides in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, on Feb 26.
PHOTO: AFP
Rainfall in Juiz de Fora – a hilly city of half a million people – has already exceeded 760mm in February, more than triple its usual monthly average.
The tragedy is the latest in a series of extreme weather disasters in Brazil, from floods to fires and drought, many of which scientists have linked to the effects of global warming.
A view of the destruction in the commercial district of Uba, in Brazil’s Minas Gerais State, on Feb 25.
PHOTO: AFP
Brazilian meteorologist Carlos Nobre attributed the unusually heavy downpours to a passing cold front system over the “very warm” Atlantic Ocean.
In 2024, more than 200 people died and two million were impacted by unprecedented flooding in southern Brazil, one of the worst natural disasters in its history. AFP
