More Than 45 Die as Storms Batter Rio de Janeiro State

Heavy rains that battered Rio de Janeiro state in recent days have killed more than 45 people and driven 2,000 from their homes, the state Civil Defense Department said Tuesday.

The number of victims is expected to climb as rescue workers struggle to find as many as 48 people still missing in Petropolis, a popular weekend retreat about an hour’s drive from the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Petropolis was the worst-hit area of Rio de Janeiro state.

“In the city of Rio de Janeiro, the situation is under control, but it remains critical in Petropolis, which could mean more deaths in that municipality,” said Col. JoIao Bosco, state director of civil defense.

Twenty-eight people have died in mountainous Petropolis, and more than 466 are homeless.

The storms that arrived Sunday afternoon have caused one of the worst natural disasters in Rio de Janeiro state in recent years, said Jorge Lopes, chief of the city’s fire department. “This could have happened any time, but I lament that it occurred on Christmas Eve. It was a huge tragedy.”