Torrential rains leave at least 11 dead in Brazil

Torrential rains that turned avenues into rivers killed at least 11 people in Rio de Janeiro, the fire department told AFP.

The rainstorm hit northern parts of Rio particularly hard, where people died in a landslide, drownings, and electrocutions. Firefighters were still searching for a woman who went missing after her car fell into a river on Sunday evening.

Water from the storm reached the roofs of cars on some stretches of Avenida de Brasil, a major thoroughfare in the city.

Mayor Eduardo Paes decreed the situation an "emergency" and urged people to stay home for their own safety, and so as not to disrupt rescue and recovery efforts.

A dozen bus lines shut down and several metro stations were closed because of water on the tracks.

Some parts of the city received a month's worth of rain typical in January in just 24 hours and a report from firefighters showed they had responded to 200 storm-related events.

In Acari, one of the worst affected neighbourhoods, waters flooded the basement offices of the Ronaldo Gazolla hospital and businesses were hit hard.

"I arrived at work and everything was flooded. Every year the same thing happens when it rains hard here, it turns into a pool, a lagoon," said Alexandre Gomes, trying to remove water from the store where she works.

A national agency that monitors natural disasters said there was a high risk of landslides in eight towns in the surrounding Rio de Janeiro state.

/KN/