Intense rainfall caused mudslides and flooding that destroyed part of the city of Petrópolis, in a region where a similar disaster in 2011 killed more than 900.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Firefighters and desperate residents searched for victims Wednesday after powerful mudslides and flooding swept through a mountainous region north of Rio de Janeiro, dumping a month’s worth of rain overnight and killing at least 78 people. The mayor of Petrópolis, a historic city nestled in mountains some 70 miles from Rio de Janeiro’s beaches, said the death toll could still rise. A similar disaster killed more than 900 people in the area in 2011. Many experts say such extreme weather events are becoming more common with global warming. Intense rainfall starting on Tuesday evening caused mudslides that tore down dozens of homes on the hillsides above Petrópolis and caused flooding that did more damage in the streets below. Images and videos on social media showed rivers of mud rushing through the city’s streets, sweeping everything along the way: cars, trees, and sometimes people. The rains that caused the devastation were the heaviest the city had seen since 1952, Brazil’s National Meteorological Institute said.
