Rains and floods leave 14 dead in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Torrential rains in Brazil have triggered a wave of flash floods and landslides, leaving at least 14 dead, including a mother and six of her children.

The downpours lashed Brazil’s southeastern region this weekend, prompting local authorities to call for a nuclear power plant shutdown. More rain is expected this week.

Rains in Rio de Janeiro state killed eight children, while five more are missing. The National reported that a mother and six of her children, ages 2, 5, 8, 10, 15, and 17, were buried when a landslide swept through their home in the Ponta Negra neighborhood of Paraty. A seventh child was rescued and is hospitalized.

The picturesque colonial town, the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Rio de Janeiro state, has been devastated by flooding.

On Sunday, the mayor of the city of Angra dos Reis, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) south of Rio de Janeiro, asked the federal government to shut down Brazil’s only nuclear power plant, noting that roads around it have been affected by landslides and flooding, putting the plant’s emergency plans at risk.

However, Eletrobras Eletronuclear, the plant’s operator, announced that its emergency plan was not compromised. “The obstructions on this road are outside the emergency planning zones,” it mentioned.

The southeastern states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte have experienced more extreme rainfall in the last 20 years. Mountainous areas are vulnerable to heavy rains, which can destabilize steep slopes and cause landslides.

In February, mudslides in the mountainous city of Petrópolis in Rio de Janeiro State left 233 people dead. During the disaster, more than 10 inches (25.8 centimeters) of rainfall was recorded in three hours, almost as much as in the previous 30 days combined.