People observe a flooded street after heavy rain in Caieiras, Brazil, 30 January 2022;
Credit: Reuters / Carla Carniel
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Landslides and flooding from heavy rains in São Paulo state have killed at least nineteen people since Friday, including seven children, public safety officials said on Sunday.
According to São Paulo state authorities, nine other people were injured in the rains and four more were missing, while some 500 families were left homeless across the state.
São Paulo Governor João Doria flew over the flooded areas on Sunday and said he had authorised fifteen million reais (approximately €2.5 million) of emergency aid for the affected cities.
The federal government said in a statement from the Ministry of Regional Development that it is monitoring the situation.
The hardest-hit municipalities around greater São Paulo included Aruja, Francisco Morato, Embu das Artes and Franco da Rocha.
The storms also caused damages upstate in Varzea Paulista, Campo Limpo Paulista, Jau, Capivari, Montemor and Rafard, state officials said.
Since December 2021, heavy rains have triggered deadly floods in northeast Brazil, threatened to delay harvests in the midwest and briefly forced the suspension of mining operations in the state of Minas Gerais.
