Extreme Weather: Rain kills 109 in Pernambuco and leaves 6,000 homeless

The torrential rains in the state of Pernambuco between May 25 and 29 have caused, so far, 109 deaths and are being considered the biggest tragedy in the state since the 1960s.

Most of the deaths were due to landslides, which, according to experts, could have been avoided with planning and public policies, especially for housing.

“We know that there is a housing deficit, but it is a deficit that needs to be solved as quickly as possible, because if not, every year we are going to have this problem, we are going to play Russian roulette, like ‘2023 is coming with the rains, who is going to die now? ,” said Professor Hernande Pereira da Silva, coordinator of the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction of Pernambuco (IRRD).

The climate disaster also left more than 6,000 people homeless.