The Brazilian authorities raised the number of confirmed deaths after the landslide in the city of Petrópolis to 117 this Thursday, while warning that they may increase as there are still more than 100 missing.
The Rio de Janeiro state government said they
fear many are still trapped under the mud that swept through several neighborhoods
in the German-influenced city in the mountains above the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Torrents of water and mud swept cars and entire homes through city streets on Tuesday, amid the heaviest rain the city has seen in decades.
[Brazilian City Suffers Huge Devastation From Heavy Rains]
A video showed two buses sinking into a swollen river as their passengers climbed out of the windows, struggling for safety, The Associated Press news agency reported.
But some were swept downstream by the current, losing sight of them.
This Thursday a new landslide caused the evacuation of the city, but no additional victims were reported.
Rosilene Virginia told the aforementioned media outlet that her brother managed to narrowly escape, which she called "a miracle."
However, she still hasn't found a friend who disappeared during the mudslides.
Relatives bury Zilmar Batista, 54, who died in the landslides in the city of Petrópolis, Brazil;
on February 17, 2021. Silvia Izquierdo / AP
“It is very sad to see people asking for help and having no way to help them, having nothing to do,” Virginia said as a man comforted her.
"It's desperate, such a feeling of loss," she added.
While some people shoveled mud from their houses and streets, others buried their family and friends.
There were at least 17 funerals Thursday at a cemetery that was affected by the rains.
Rio police said in a statement Thursday that some 200 officers were reviewing lists of the living, dead and missing by visiting checkpoints and shelters, as well as the city's morgue.
They said they managed to remove three people from a missing list after they were found alive at a local school.
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“Every detail is important so that we can track people down,” said Elen Souto, a Rio police detective.
"We need people to provide the full name of the disappeared person, their identity card, physical features and the clothes that person was wearing," he said.
Petrópolis, named after Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, also known as the Imperial City, has long been a tourist draw.
However, many poor residents have also settled on the slopes of the mountains, in areas more vulnerable to landslides due to deforestation and the lack of a good drainage system.
More than 10 inches (25.8 cm) of rain fell in a three-hour span on Tuesday: almost as much as in the past 30 days and a record not seen since 1932, according to Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro.
On video: The shocking images of the landslide in Brazil that left dozens dead
Feb. 16, 202201:15
"It is a tragedy that we did not expect and that ended with the city
," a Petrópolis resident affected by the landslides told Noticias Telemundo.
"A lot of water, a lot of water, we had never seen so much... we lost everything," lamented another woman.
Heavy rain is forecast to continue into the weekend, prompting some 180 people living in high-risk areas to take shelter in churches and schools.
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The city drew up a plan in 2017 to protect areas most prone to flooding and landslides, after more than 900 people were killed in a massive landslide a few decades ago.
However, progress on the works has been slow.
It is estimated that 18% of the territory of Petrópolis needs to be redesigned to protect it from torrential rains.
Brazilian President
Jair Bolsonaro lamented the deaths during his work trip to Russia
.
Local authorities decreed three days of mourning.
