Showers began on Thursday, leading to deadly landslides in the area. The rainfall registered in the past 48 hours is the highest recorded in Angra dos Reis, according to the city government.
At least four other people were injured – none seriously – after seven houses were damaged by landslides in the coastal community of Ponta Negra, according to officials in Paraty. More than 22 neighborhoods were continuously flooded and 71 families were displaced.
In the city of Mesquita, a 38-year-old man was electrocuted to death after three days of heavy rain, CNN Brazil reported.
In the city of Angra dos Reis, a 4-year-old girl and a teenager were killed and at least nine people were missing, the branch reported, citing fire and civil defense officials. Five people were rescued.
The Rio de Janeiro state fire brigade and civil defense authorities were deployed in the affected cities to help rescue people. The Civil Defense does not have an estimate of the number of people missing so far.
The Brazilian Ministry of Interior Development said that Colonel Alexandre Lucas, Minister of Defense and Civil Protection, will travel to the hardest-hit areas on Saturday.
