BRASILIA, Brazil –
Authorities said landslides caused by heavy rains killed at least 29 people in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco on Saturday. In Alagoas, another state in the region, two people died when they were swept away by floods on Friday.
More than 1,000 people were forced to flee their homes because of flooding in Pernambuco, civil defense officials said.
The executive secretary of the civil defense agency in Pernambuco, Lieutenant Colonel Leonardo Rodrigues, said in a video posted on Instagram that about 32,000 families live in areas at risk of landslides or flooding in the state.
Schools in the city of Recife have been opened to accommodate the homeless.
In Alagoas, the state government said 33 cities had declared a state of emergency due to the effects of heavy rains over the past several days.
President Jair Bolsonaro said on Twitter that teams from the Ministry of Regional Development and the Armed Forces would be sent to the state and also to Alagoas for “relief and humanitarian assistance”.
