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At least 94 people have died in the historic mountain town of Petropolis in Brazil, officials in the country’s local government reported on Wednesday after heavy rains caused mudslides that buried houses, flooded the streets and swept away vehicles and buses.
Petropolis, or as it is called “the imperial city”, is located in the hills above the famous city of Rio de Janeiro and was the summer town of the kings of Brazil in the 19th century.
Two days ago, after the floods, little evidence remains of the city’s charm, after its streets and German buildings were destroyed. On Tuesday, the amount of rain that fell in the city was more than the average for February combined.
A Brazilian girl, a local resident who refused to give her full name, was upset when she waited on the street near the ruins of her home which she shared with eight other people. “I lost my niece and her five-year-old daughter, and we still haven’t found them,” she said. “We did not expect this tragedy. Our city is over.”
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In the Morro de Opicina neighborhood, up to 80 houses were damaged by landslides, and authorities expect the number of victims to rise. Local firefighters and civil protection teams are on site. “The situation is almost like a war. Cars hanging on poles, cars overturned, a lot of mud and stagnant water,” Rio de Janeiro governor Claudio Castro told reporters at the scene.
President Jair Bolsonaro, who is in Russia, said on Twitter that he had asked ministers to help Petropolis and victims. “We already intend to offer the mayor what we can,” Bolsonaro told reporters in Moscow, adding that he would release federal funds to help “restore traffic in the area.”
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