Rains, mudslides kill 29 in southern Brazil’s ‘worst disaster’
AFP | Brasilia
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday visited the country’s south where floods and mudslides caused by torrential rains have killed 29 people, with the toll expected to rise.
Authorities in Rio Grande do Sul have declared a state of emergency as rescuers continue to search for dozens of people reported missing among the ruins of collapsed homes, bridges and roads.
Storm damage has affected nearly 150 municipalities in the state, also injuring 36 people and displacing more than 10,000. Governor Eduardo Leite said Rio Grande do Sul was dealing with “the worst disaster in (its) history.”
“With the deepest pain in my heart, I know it will be even more,” the governor said of the death toll. Lula, who has blamed the torrent on climate change, arrived in the town of Santa Maria in the morning with a delegation of ministers and held a working meeting with Leite and other officials to coordinate rescue efforts, the government said.
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