At least two dead and one firefighter missing in floods in southern Brazil

At least two dead and one missing firefighter is the result of floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina (south), the Fire Brigade and the regional Civil Defense office reported yesterday, Thursday.

A landslide caused the death of a man in his Brusque home.

At the same time, another fatality was recorded in Palhoça, a municipality neighboring the capital of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, when he was electrocuted while crossing a flooded street.

In addition, a fireman is missing when the boat he was driving in the seaside town of Navegantes, in Santa Catarina, was wrecked.

More than 600 people were evacuated from their homes due to the floods that hit Santa Catarina, a state bordering Argentina.

In the neighboring state of Paraná (south), rescuers searched on Thursday for people missing under tons of mud after the landslide registered last Monday on the road in Guaratuba.

According to information issued on Wednesday by the authorities of Paraná, two people died, some 30 are reported missing, and six were rescued alive after the landslide, which dragged 16 vehicles towards a precipice in a mountainous region of difficult access.