The death toll from heavy rain and flooding that has plagued the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia since November rose to 20 on Monday, amid incessant torrents that have displaced almost 63,000 people, authorities said, IgbereTV reports.
Two new fatalities were recorded in the town of Itabuna: a 21-year-old man who was swept away by currents and a 33-year-old woman was killed in a landslide, according to a local government report.
“We are living through the biggest disaster in Bahia’s history,” said Bahia Governor Rui Costa, who has been overseeing rescue operations in the afflicted areas since Saturday.
“The water is starting to decline at the source of the Cachoeira River and it is expected to improve in the days to come, although slowly,” Costa said.
Houses were under water and streets turned into rivers in several municipalities in the south of the state, pounded since Thursday by heavy rainfall that caused dams to burst and rivers to overflow at the weekend
