Landslides and flooding that have swept southeast Brazil have killed at least 50 people, according to the latest death toll released by authorities on Thursday, the fifth day of search and rescue operations.

The fire brigade in the state of Sao Paulo continues to search, hoping to find several dozen people still missing in Sao Sebastian, a heavily damaged seaside resort 200 kilometers from the state capital of the same name.

“Over time, the chances of finding survivors decrease. But we continue to work “as long as there is even the slightest hope,” said a member of the rescue team.

The attention of rescuers is riveted to the Vila-Sai area, where houses on the hillside were buried under mudflows and stones.

More than 680 millimeters of rain fell in San Sebastian in 24 hours, twice the monthly average in this city, which many people visit during carnival weekend. According to the São Paulo state government, this is a national record.

This was stated by the Governor of Sao Paulo Tarcisio de Freitas. the system of notification of residents by SMS did not allow to avoid the tragedy. He promised that sirens would be installed in high-risk areas.

“Before the rain, 2.6 million warning SMS were sent. And we have seen that it is inefficient. Here, on the beach, more than 30,000 people have received SMS warnings,” the governor said at a press conference.

The destruction, the abundance of this nature, which the largest state of Latin America has experienced in recent years, is associated by experts with the consequences of climate change and uncontrolled urbanization.

9.5 million Brazilians live in areas at risk of landslides or floods, many of them in favelas – slums – lacking basic infrastructure such as sewerage, a national disaster warning and monitoring center (Centro Nacional de Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters, Centro Nacional de Monitoring and Alerts of Natural Disasters, ZEMADEN).

Source: RES-IPE