Heavy rains have left a trail of destruction in Brazil.Image: keystone
Extreme weather
February 26, 2026, 6:30 p.mFebruary 26, 2026, 6:30 p.m
The death toll has risen to 54 following devastating floods in southeastern Brazil. According to the city administration, 48 dead and 13 missing people were registered in the large city of Juiz de Fora. In the town of Ubá, around 100 kilometers away, six more people were killed and two are missing there.
Heavy rains have left a trail of destruction in the state of Minas Gerais since Monday night. The floods swept away houses and flooded streets. More than 3,500 residents were left homeless. The rescue work had to be temporarily interrupted on Thursday night due to persistent rain and the risk of new landslides. The region’s hilly topography is prone to landslides and flooding during heavy rain.
A quarter of Juiz de Fora was particularly badly affected. A mother died there after she threw herself onto her six-year-old son to protect herself when her house collapsed, as the news portal “G1” reported. “She threw herself on Antony and thus saved his life,” reported the mother of the deceased. The boy survived, buried under the rubble.
Another resident lost both her mother and her two-year-old daughter in a landslide. «It all happened very quickly. “I lost my mother and my daughter all at once, everything I had in this life,” she told the radio station “Itatiaia” in tears.
City experiences rainiest February since measurements began
The city had already declared a state of disaster, suspended classes at city schools and converted several facilities into emergency shelters. Mayor Margarida Salomão spoke of the rainiest February since measurements began and described the situation as critical. Further rainfall is expected at least until Friday. (hkl/sda/dpa)