Rescuers in boats and aircraft raced against the clock on Sunday to help isolated people in Brazil’s mountainous southeast after storms and heavy rains left at least 25 people dead in two states.
The death toll in Espirito Santo rose from four to 17 on Sunday as rescuers advanced, aided by water levels that had dropped overnight as the rainfall temporarily subsided.
The most affected municipality was Mimoso do Sul, a town of almost 25,000 inhabitants in the south of Espirito Santo, where flooding has killed at least 15 people.
Two more people died in the municipality of Apiaca.
State Governor Renato Casagrande described the situation as “chaotic,” though falling water levels on Sunday had allowed rescuers to make their way to previously inaccessible areas.
At least 5,200 people had been evacuated from their homes, state authorities said.
Four of the deaths in Rio state occurred when the storm caused a house to collapse in the city of Petropolis, 70 kilometers (45 miles) inland from the capital.
The deluge came after Brazil, South America’s largest country, suffered a string of extreme weather events, which experts said are more likely to occur due to climate change.
