Death toll in Brazilian floods rises to 46 as rescuers continue search

Al Jazeera · Feb 26, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Emergency workers continue to search for missing residents of towns reeling from recent floods.Published On 26 Feb 2026Authorities in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil have updated the death toll from recent floods to 46 people, after homes and towns were left covered in mud and debris.The state fire department published the revised figure on Wednesday, adding that about 21 people remain missing. Forty of the deaths took place in the town of Juiz de Fora, while the other six were from nearby Uba.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Photos: Rescuers search for missing after deluge kills 30 in Brazillist 2 of 3Heavy rains flood Gaza tents as Israel kills two more Palestinianslist 3 of 3At least 23 dead as heavy rains unleash floods in southeastern Brazilend of listAbout 3,600 residents have been displaced from the area, where emergency workers continue search operations.“Our family is desperate,” Josiane Aparecida, a 43-year-old cook in Juiz de Fora, told the news service AFP.She added that her aunt and cousin both died as a result of a landslide and that her cousin’s boyfriend and two children, ages six and nine, remain missing.“We have hope, and yet we don’t, because it’s so difficult [to find them], and we’ve already lost two,” said Aparecida.Torrential rains in southern Brazil have caused waterways to spill their banks and soil to become loosened on hillsides, sweeping away homes and engulfing dozens of people.The Parque Burnier neighbourhood of Juiz de Fora faces the aftermath of a landslide in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state on February 24 [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]An 11-year-old boy named Bernardo Lopes Dutra was among those killed.“It’s a tragedy that no one was expecting,” his father, Ricardo Dutra, said at the funeral, describing Bernardo as “a boy with a big heart who, in his own way, touched everyone around him”.Firefighters have said that those still missing are unlikely to be found alive.Periods of heavy rain frequently cause lethal floods in Brazil, where poorer communities and those in improvised structures often find themselves at higher risk.“We never had support from the public authorities to help us with anything,” Flavio Clemente Rodrigues, a resident of Juiz de Fora, told The Associated Press news agency.Mayor Margarida Salomao of Juiz de Fora said that at least 20 landslides in the area have occurred since the rain began on Monday, and Brazilian meteorological authorities have warned that more rain is still expected in the coming days.Scientists have said that climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of extreme weather events, including flooding. The South American nation of Peru also declared a state of emergency on Wednesday amid heavy rain and flooding in around half of the country’s districts.