At least 94 deaths have been confirmed by officials in Brazil after floods and mudslides swept away homes and cars in the city of Petropolis, but there are fears that many bodies remain trapped.
Rubens Bomtempo, mayor of the German-influenced city nestled in the mountains, did not even offer an estimate for the number of people missing, with recovery efforts continuing.
“We don’t yet know the full scale of this,” he said on Wednesday. “It was a hard day, a difficult day.”
More than 24 hours after the deadly deluge early on Tuesday, survivors were digging to find lost loved ones.
Rio de Janeiro’s public prosecutors’ office said on Wednesday night that it had compiled a list of 35 people yet to be located.
Footage posted on social media showed torrents dragging cars and houses through the streets and water swirling through the city.
One video showed two buses sinking into a swollen river as its passengers clambered out of the windows, scrambling for safety. Some did not make it to the banks and were washed away, out of sight.
On Wednesday morning, houses were left buried beneath mud while appliances and cars were in piles on the streets.
Petropolis, named after a former Brazilian emperor, has been a refuge for people escaping the summer heat and tourists keen to explore the so-called “Imperial City”.
Its prosperity has also drawn residents from Rio’s poorer regions.
Its population grew haphazardly, climbing mountainsides now covered with small residences packed tightly together. Many are in areas unfit for structures and made more vulnerable by deforestation and inadequate drainage.
The state fire department said just over 10in (25.8cm) of rain fell in three hours on Tuesday – almost as much as during the previous 30 days combined.
Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro said at a press conference that the rains were the worst Petropolis has received since 1932.
“No-one could predict rain as hard as this,” he said.
More rain is expected throughout the rest of the week, according to weather forecasters.
Mr Castro added that almost 400 people have been left homeless and 24 people recovered alive.
They are fortunate, and they are few.
“I could only hear my brother yelling ‘Help! Help! My God!’” resident Rosilene Virginia told the Associated Press as a man comforted her. “It’s very sad to see people asking for help and having no way of helping, no way of doing anything. It’s desperate, a feeling of loss so great.”
The stricken mountain region has seen similar catastrophes in recent decades, including one that caused more than 900 deaths.
In the years since, Petropolis has presented a plan to reduce the risk of landslides, but work has been advancing only slowly. The plan, presented in 2017, was based on analysis determining that 18% of the city’s territory was at high risk for landslides and flooding.
Local authorities say more than 180 residents who live in at-risk areas are sheltering in schools. More equipment and manpower is expected to help rescue efforts on Thursday.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro expressed solidarity while on a trip to Russia.
Petropolis’s city hall declared three days of mourning for the tragedy.
South-eastern Brazil has been punished with heavy rain since the start of the year, with more than 40 deaths recorded between incidents in Minas Gerais state in early January and Sao Paulo state later the same month.
