Tag Archives: Brazil

Death toll in Brazilian flooding and landslides climbs over 800

Recent flooding in Brazil has submerged entire towns in water and mud. Image courtesy Blamed (Arquivo pessoal) via Wikimedia Commons
Recent flooding in Brazil has submerged entire towns in water and mud. Image courtesy Blamed (Arquivo pessoal) via Wikimedia Commons

Australia and Brazil have both been besieged by heavy rains and flooding in recent weeks.  While Australia’s damage was more widespread, the death toll in Brazil has been far more severe.

At latest count at least 809 people have been killed in the flooding in areas just north of Rio de Janeiro.  389 are reported dead from the floods and mudslides in Nova Friburgo and 324 in Teresolis.  With at least 200 people missing the toll may eventually exceed 1,000.

More than 20,000 people have been forced out of their homes as flash floods and mud rushed through the Serrana region and the Brazilian government is being heavily criticized for its lax oversight of construction standards. The lack of a proper weather warning system and civil defense plan have also been highlighted by the calamity. 

Many within the country and in the international community are questioning the ability of Brazil to play host to the World Cup and the Olympics later this decade. Brazilian daily newspaper Estado de S. Paulo wrote, “A look at public policy … or the lack thereof … reveals a long chain of unpreparedness, administrative incompetence, technical incapacity, and political irresponsibility.”

The recent deaths far surpass Brazil’s previous worst natural disaster. That event, a flood in the state of Sao Paulo in 1967, claimed 436 lives. 

For complete coverage of all types of natural disasters, please visit the Natural Disasters Examiner.

Brazilian wildfire spawns fire tornado

Fire tornadoes, sometimes called fire whirls or fire devils, are formed when heated air from a fire rises and rotates. This vertical column of air can pull fire into it turning it into an amazing display of nature’s fury.
Fire tornadoes, sometimes called fire whirls or fire devils, are formed when heated air from a fire rises and rotates. This vertical column of air can pull fire into it turning it into an amazing display of nature’s fury. Watch video of one in Brazil below.

Dry conditions, abundant fuel and strong winds create dangerous wildfire conditions. When in the right combination, a rare event – a fire tornado – can occur and one was captured on video in Brazil yesterday.

Coloradoans are not strangers to the dangers of wildfires. A relatively wet winter and summer has allowed us to escape relatively unscathed so far this year. Other parts of the globe however have not been so lucky.

In Russia, fires have burned hundreds of thousands of acres and sent plumes of smoke thousands of miles from western Russia to Siberia. The smoke has been so extensive it can be seen by NASA satellites 22,300 miles above the Earth.

Brazil as well has seen extensive wildfire activity in the last few weeks due to a drought. The brush fires have been fueled by the dry brush and they have devastated open land and destroyed homes.

Videographers filming near the city of Aracatuba in the Brazilian state of Sao Paolo captured a fire tornado yesterday as it tore through a Brazilian field. The rare event results when hot air on the surface rises and is twisted by winds thus pulling the fire vertically.