by Eugenia LOGIURATTO Agence France-Presse ATAFONA, Brazil (AFP) – Vultures roam the sand in the Brazilian resort town of Atafona amid the ruins of the latest houses destroyed by the sea, whose relentless rise has turned the local coastline into an apocalyptic landscape. The Atlantic Ocean advances an average of six meters (nearly 20 feet) a year in this small town north of Rio de Janeiro, which has long been prone to extreme erosion — […]
Tag: Brazil
Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon hits January record
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon set a new record for January just three weeks into the year, according to data released Wednesday, a worrying sign of the surging destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest. Nearly 360 square kilometers (140 square miles) of forest cover — an area more than six times the size of Manhattan — were destroyed in the Brazilian Amazon from January 1 to January 21, said […]
Rescuers dig desperately in mud for Brazil flood survivors
by Florence GOISNARD FRANCO DA ROCHA, Brazil (AFP) — Knee-deep in the mud left by a horrific landslide in southeastern Brazil, dozens of rescue workers and volunteers raced Monday to find any remaining survivors before it was too late. Floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains have killed at least 24 people, including eight children, since Friday in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s industrial hub and home to 46 million people. In the city […]
Torrential rains leave at least 18 dead in Brazil
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Torrential rains in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state between Friday and Sunday left at least 18 people dead, authorities said. “Since last Friday, the turmoil caused by the bad weather caused 18 deaths, including seven children and left around 500 people without homes or displaced,” said the Sao Paulo state government, citing the Civil Defense body. After flying over affected areas, governor Joao Doria announced he was releasing 15 million reales […]
Brazil’s Bolsonaro downplays Omicron
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday downplayed the Omicron coronavirus variant amid a surge in hard-hit Brazil, ruling out new containment measures as he defended the pursuit of herd immunity through widespread infection. In the country with the world’s second-highest Covid-19 death toll, Bolsonaro said the arrival of the Omicron variant posed little threat, even as experts warn of growing pressure on hospitals. “Omicron has not killed anyone,” the […]
Brazil cliff collapse kills at least seven
At least seven people were killed and three were missing after a cliff collapsed onto boats carrying tourists on a lake in Brazil, authorities said Saturday. Rescue teams including a dive squad and members of the Brazilian Navy rushed to Furnas Lake in Minas Gerais state, where panicked tourists had watched helplessly as a large rock fragment broke off a ravine and plunged atop three boats. The latest official toll is “seven dead and three […]
Brazil green-lights Covid-19 vaccines for children age 5-11
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian health authorities authorized Covid-19 vaccines for children age five to 11 on Wednesday, as South America’s most populous country faces a rapid increase in cases due to holiday gatherings and the arrival of the Omicron variant. The final green light by Brazil’s Ministry of Health comes three weeks after the nation’s independent medicines regulator, Anvisa, declared Pfizer-BioNTech’s child-size dose to be safe and effective. “To all those parents who want […]
Bolsonaro will not undergo surgery: doctors
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will not need surgery, his doctors said Tuesday, a day after the far-right leader was rushed to the hospital with a partially blocked intestine. “President Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s intestinal subocclusion has been eliminated, with no need for surgery,” the Vila Nova Star hospital in Sao Paulo said in a statement. “The patient is making satisfactory progress in both clinical evaluations and laboratory exams, and will begin […]
Brazil’s Bolsonaro rushed to hospital
by Luján Scarpinelli SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was rushed to hospital early Monday with abdominal pain that doctors found was caused by a partial intestinal blockage, and is facing potential surgery nine months out from elections. Bolsonaro, 66, was on vacation at the beach in the southern state of Santa Catarina when the pain started, his latest health problem since being stabbed in the abdomen during the 2018 presidential campaign […]
Death toll from Brazil flooding rises to 20
ITAPETINGA, Brazil (AFP) — 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. 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 […]
Brazil flooding death toll mounts, thousands more displaced
SALVADOR, Brazil (AFP) – The death toll from heavy rains that have battered the Brazilian state of Bahia since November rose to 18 on Sunday, amid incessant torrents that have displaced 35,000 people, authorities said. Bahia firefighters confirmed the death of a 60-year-old man who drowned in a river in the south of the state on Sunday. Two people are also missing, while 19,580 have been displaced and another 16,001 forced to seek shelter, bringing […]
Heavy rains displace thousands in northeast Brazil
SALVADOR, Brazil (AFP) — More than 11,000 people have been displaced in the Brazilian state of Bahia due to flooding, with authorities scrambling Saturday to provide relief to residents without alternate housing. The heavy rains have killed 17 people since November, including the latest death on Thursday, the state’s civil protection agency said. A total of 4,185 people were seeking shelter, according to data released by the agency on Friday, after the rains struck 19 […]





