Rainstorms in Brazil claim 11 lives

BRASALIA: At least 11 people have been killed by storms in southeastern Brazil, the same region where a dam collapse one year ago killed 270 people, firefighters said on Saturday.Two days of torrential rain in Minas Gerais state have also left seven people injured, 16 missing and more than 2,500 homeless following a series of landslides and house collapses, Civil Defense officials said.

At least two children were listed among the dead. Rainfall in the region has been the heaviest since records were first kept 110 years ago, the National Institute of Meteorology said. In one 24-hour period, state capital Belo Horizonte recorded 172 millimeters (almost seven inches) of rain.

Forecasters said the rain is expected to continue through on Saturday. The deluge coincided with the first anniversary of the dam collapse in the Minas Gerais town of Brumadinho, where 11 people are still listed as missing.

An accumulation of water and a lack of drainage caused the tailings dam rupture on January 25, 2019, according to a report commissioned by the mining firm Vale.