Hommam Al Nassim 
At least 12 people have died in the city of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, due to torrential rains in Brazil.
The Rio state government reported the collapse of a residence and a small building that killed four people in the tourist city of Petrópolis, 70 km from the state capital.
Claudio Castro, the governor of the city of Petrópolis, warned on social media platforms that the city was facing difficult conditions as a result of “heavy rainfall and flooding of the Kitandina River.”
Seven deaths have been recorded in Rio state since Friday due to rains, including in the cities of Teresópolis, Santa Cruz da Serra and Arial do Capo, according to the government.
Espiritu Santo’s civil defence confirmed four deaths in the south of the province on Saturday afternoon, and two children were injured and hospitalized in rain-related incidents on the coast of Sao Paulo.
Experts from the National Meteorological Institute explained that the storm was caused by the arrival of a cold front in the middle of the week in Rio Grande do Sul (south), which affected Sao Paulo and Rio, before reaching Espiritu Santo.
Aerial photographs released by the Civil Defence showed the seriousness of the floods, as the town of Mimoso do Sul was flooded.
The amount of rainfall exceeds the historical average for March of 141.5 mm, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a post on Platform X.
Environmental disasters are being worsened by climate change, the Brazilian president said, adding that the storm had left thousands homeless, and vowing that his government would work alongside local authorities to tackle the crisis.
The storm follows a severe heat wave that affected the region, with a temperature of 62.3 degrees Celsius recorded in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil is suffering from the repercussions of climate change and frequent natural disasters, with more than 230 people dying in Petrópolis in 2022 as a result of heavy rains.
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