At least 10 people have died after landslides swept through two cities in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, state officials have said. The Bethania neighborhood in the city of Ipatinga was the worst affected by the mudslides, which were triggered by torrential rain.
The mayor’s office said that 204mm (8in) of rain fell in Ipatinga on Sunday morning.
Landslides following torrential rains are not uncommon in the rainy season, with neighbourhoods precariously built on steep hillsides the worst hit.
Ipatinga Mayor Gustavo Nunes declared a state of emergency. At least 150 people have been left homeless in the city, which is located some 570km north of Rio de Janeiro. The mayor said the city had been surprised by the intense rains. “There was no time for people to prepare,” according to Nunes.
At least nine people are confirmed to have died in Ipatinga, while another body was found half-an-hour’s drive north in Santana do Paraíso. Local media reported that two youths managed to escape alive from a home where five of their relatives died buried under the mud.
The city’s health centre was also damaged by the landslides, Ipatinga’s health minister said.
“At this time, the health centre is in no state to attend to people and all the patients who were here waiting to be transferred have been moved,” Walisson Medeiros said.
He thanked neighbouring cities for offering to help. The governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, said he would visit the affected area later on Monday.