Heavy Rains Leave 36 Dead in Brazil, Cities Cancel Carnival

A view shows the damage caused by severe rainfall in Ilhabela, Brazil, February 19, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. (Tribuna do Povo/Caio Gomes/via Reuters)
A view shows the damage caused by severe rainfall in Ilhabela, Brazil, February 19, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. (Tribuna do Povo/Caio Gomes/via Reuters)
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Heavy Rains Leave 36 Dead in Brazil, Cities Cancel Carnival

A view shows the damage caused by severe rainfall in Ilhabela, Brazil, February 19, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. (Tribuna do Povo/Caio Gomes/via Reuters)
A view shows the damage caused by severe rainfall in Ilhabela, Brazil, February 19, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. (Tribuna do Povo/Caio Gomes/via Reuters)

Heavy rain caused flooding and landslides that have killed 36 people in Brazil’s north Sao Paulo state, officials said Sunday, and the fatalities could rise.

Sao Paulo state government said in a statement that 35 died in the city of Sao Sebastiao and a 7-year-old girl was killed in neighboring Ubatuba.

The cities of Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela and Bertioga, some of the hardest hit and now under state of calamity, canceled their Carnival festivities as rescue teams struggle to find missing, injured and feared dead in the rubble.

“Our rescue teams are not managing to get to several locations; it is a chaotic situation,” said Felipe Augusto, the mayor of Sao Sebastiao. Later, he added there are dozens of people missing and that 50 houses collapsed in the city due to the landslides.

Augusto posted on social media several videos of widespread destruction in his city, including one of baby being rescued by locals lined up on a flooded street.

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Twitter he will visit the region Monday.

Sao Paulo state government said in a statement that precipitation in the region has surpassed 600 millimeters (23.6 inches) in one day, one of the highest amounts ever in Brazil in such a short period.

Bertioga alone had 687 millimeters during that period, the state government said.

Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas said in a statement he requested support from the army, which sent two airplanes and rescue teams to the region.

TV footage showed houses flooded with only the roof visible. Residents are using small boats to carry items and people to higher positions. A road that connects Rio de Janeiro to the port city of Santos was blocked by landslides and floodwaters.

The northern coast of Sao Paulo state is a frequent Carnival destination for wealthy tourists who prefer to stay away from massive street parties in big cities.



Rescue Efforts from Myanmar's Deadly Earthquake Wind Down as Death Toll Exceeds 3,500

A damaged lying Buddhist statue is pictured inside a pagoda following a strong earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A damaged lying Buddhist statue is pictured inside a pagoda following a strong earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
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Rescue Efforts from Myanmar's Deadly Earthquake Wind Down as Death Toll Exceeds 3,500

A damaged lying Buddhist statue is pictured inside a pagoda following a strong earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A damaged lying Buddhist statue is pictured inside a pagoda following a strong earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

Long-shot efforts to find survivors from Myanmar’s devastating March 28 earthquake were winding down Monday, as rescue efforts were supplanted by increasing relief and recovery activity, with the death toll from the disaster surpassing 3,500 and still climbing.

In the capital, Naypyitaw, people cleared debris and collected wood from their damaged houses under drizzling rain, and soldiers removed wreckage at some Buddhist monasteries, The Associated Press said.

Myanmar Fire Services Department said Monday that rescue teams had recovered 10 bodies from the rubble of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second biggest city.

It said international rescuers from Singapore, Malaysia and India had returned to their countries after their work to find survivors was considered completed. The number of rescue teams operating in the residential areas of Naypyitaw has been steadily decreasing.

The 7.7 magnitude quake hit a wide swath of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states. The earthquake left many areas without power, telephone or cell connections and damaged roads and bridges, making the full extent of the devastation hard to assess.

Heavy rains and winds disrupted rescue and relief operations on Saturday night and added to the misery of the homeless forced to sleep in the open. The weather forecast for this week said scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible across the country.

Myanmar’s military government and its battlefield opponents, meanwhile, have been trading accusations over alleged violations of ceasefire declarations each had declared to ease earthquake relief efforts.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army’s 2021 takeover ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalated into armed resistance and what now amounts to civil war.

Although the military government and its armed opponents declared unilateral ceasefires for a temporary period, reports of continued fighting are widespread, with the army coming in for special attention for continuing aerial bombing, according to independent Myanmar media and eyewitnesses.

Independent confirmation of fighting is difficult because of the remoteness of the areas in which much of it takes place and restrictions on journalists.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance, a trio of powerful ethnic minority guerrilla armies, declared a unilateral temporary ceasefire on April 1, following an earlier declaration by the opposition National Unity Government, or NUG.

The NUG, which leads the pro-democracy resistance, said its armed wing, the People’s Defense Force, would cease offensive actions for two weeks.

On Wednesday night, the army announced a similar unilateral ceasefire, as did another ethnic minority group among its foes, the Kachin Independence Organization.

All sides reserved the right to act in self-defense.

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, a member of the powerful Three Brotherhood Alliance, charged in a Sunday statement on the Telegram messaging platform that the military conducted airstrikes, including dropping toxic gas bombs, on villages the guerrilla group occupied last year in the northern part of Shan state.

Another member of the alliance, the Arakan Army, fighting in the western state of Rakhine, said Saturday night that the military continued to launch daily counterattacks, aerial bombardments, shelling and naval attacks against its troops in two townships in Rakhine state, as well as in Ayeyarwady and Bago regions.

The group said it occupied a military base it had besieged on a strategic hill in Bago a day after declaring its ceasefire, but honored its terms by failing to attack the army's retreating soldiers.

The shadow National Unity Government on Saturday accused the military of carrying out 63 airstrikes and artillery attacks since the earthquake, resulting in the deaths of 68 civilians, including one child and 15 women.

However, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military government, said in an audio message to journalists on Saturday night that the groups in the Three Brotherhood Alliance and the Kachin Independence Army, as well as the Karen National Union in southeastern Myanmar and pro-democracy forces in the central Magway region and other groups violated the ceasefires by attacking the army.

“We are carrying out relief and assistance efforts for the people affected by the earthquake. I am saying this to make everyone aware of the ceasefire violations at a time like this,” Zaw Min Tun said.