Brazil landslides claim at least 17 lives

At least 17 people have died in landslides triggered by heavy rains in a mountainous area of Brazil, authorities said on Tuesday.

Dozens more have been left homeless since Sunday in and around Petropolis, a former imperial capital located 68km north of Rio de Janeiro, civil defense officials said.

Two rescue workers were among the dead, according to a local official.

Rio state governor Sergio Cabral called on residents to leave high risk areas and to seek refuge in shelters provided by city authorities amid worsening downpours.

Petropolis Mayor Rubens Bomtempo meanwhile urged residents to remain indoors and warned of the possibility of more landslides.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who attended Tuesday's installment of Pope Francis in Rome, offered Cabral federal help to deal with the impact of the deluge.

A civil defense statement said the rains also affected other Rio state towns, including Angra dos Reis, Mangaratiba, Niteroi and Teresopolis.

In January 2011, more than 900 people died in Rio state's rugged region after heavy downpours spawned flooding and landslides.

 

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