Rio de Janeiro, June 23 (IANS) At least 41 people have been killed in storms which hit Brazil’s northeastern region in the past few days, authorities said Tuesday.
A total of 29 people died in the Alagoas state while 12 others were killed in the neighbouring state of Pernambuco. At least 600 people are still missing, and some of them might be trapped in areas isolated by flood waters, Xinhua news agency reported.
Fifteen towns in Alagoas and nine in Pernambuco declared state of calamity. A total of 170,000 people were affected by the storms, and at least 115,000 of them were displaced.
The Air Force is distributing food kits in several municipalities, and plans to set up two field hospitals in Alagoas. Helicopters and military vehicles were sent to reach the isolated areas.
The federal government announced the immediate release of $56 millions in emergency aid to the storms’ victims in the two states.
According to the latest weather forecasts, the rain will continue for a few days in the disaster zones.
