China News Service, March 25. According to AFP, on the 24th local time, strong storms continued to hit the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo in southeastern Brazil, killing at least 25 people. The current rescue work is still continuing. .
According to reports, floods caused by strong storms have hit the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo in recent days. Among them, the most severely affected city was Mimoso do Sul in the southern state of Espírito Santo, where at least 17 people were killed. Images released by the state fire department showed entire neighborhoods submerged in water, with only the roofs of homes visible.
Espírito Santo Governor Renato Casagrande called the situation "chaos" and so far it has not been possible to assess damage in some more remote areas, fearing the death toll may rise.
According to reports, at least eight people have been killed in Rio de Janeiro state. Most of the victims came from inland mountainous areas. Landslides caused by heavy rains destroyed many houses and caused casualties.
Search and rescue teams rescued a girl who had been buried for more than 16 hours in Rio de Janeiro state. A neighbor said her father was killed and "heroically protected the girl with his own body."
Brazil has been hit by a series of extreme weather events recently, which experts say are more likely to occur due to climate change.
Brazilian President Lula later posted on social media that such tragedies "are exacerbated by climate change," adding that thousands of people were left homeless by the severe storms.
Lula expressed sympathy for the victims and said authorities were working with state and local governments to "protect, prevent and recover from the damage caused by flooding."