At Least 35 Killed in Brazil Heavy Rainfall (Video/Photos)

At least 35 people died amid heavy rainfall in north-eastern Brazil on Friday and Saturday, authorities reported.

Media outlets revealed that downpours lashed two major cities on the Atlantic coast, marking the South American nation’s fourth major flooding event in five months.

At least 33 people died as of Saturday afternoon when the rains caused landslides that wiped away hillside urban neighbourhoods, according to the state’s official Twitter account.

In addition, authorities in the neighbouring state of Alagoas had registered two deaths, according to Brazil’s federal emergency service.

Therefore, around 765 people were forced to leave their homes, according to the state government.

https://twitter.com/metsul/status/1530581718427746308

On his part, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro sent a federal task force to Pernambuco on Saturday.

His main opponent in the October presidential election, leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, lamented the flooding on Twitter. “My solidarity to the families in the Recife metropolitan area who are suffering from the strong rains,” he wrote.

Late December and early January, dozens were killed and tens of thousands displaced when rains hammered Bahia state, also located in north-eastern Brazil.

At least 18 died in flooding in the south-eastern state of São Paulo last January, whereas torrential downpours in Rio de Janeiro state killed more than 230 last February.