At least 23 dead as heavy rains unleash floods in southeastern Brazil

Search and rescue workers are looking for more than 40 people who remain missing as towns reel from torrential rainfall.Published On 24 Feb 2026Torrential rainfall has caused floods across the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil, killing at least 23 people.Dozens of emergency workers, some with disaster-trained search dogs, combed through mounds of debris on Tuesday in the municipality of Juiz de Fora, which recorded at least 18 deaths.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3UN warns of millions displaced by climate change as COP30 opens in Brazillist 2 of 3At least 1,250 people dead: What caused the devastating Asia floods?list 3 of 3‘We have to rebuild’: Mozambique flood victims persevere in face of lossend of listThey were on the lookout for the more than 40 people who have been missing since the rains began on Monday.“We’ve been here since last night to see if they survive underground,” Livia Rosa, a 44-year-old seamstress, told the news service AFP.She explained that several of her relatives were buried in the mud. “Hope is the last thing to die.”Rainfall in the region is expected to continue for the coming days, complicating rescue efforts.Images of the initial floods show mud and sludge clogging areas of Juiz de Fora, after a swollen river veered off course.At least 440 people were displaced in the city, located about 310km (192 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro. At least seven deaths were also recorded in the nearby town of Uba.Firefighters and civil defence workers help at a site where homes collapsed due to heavy rains and severe flooding in the Parque Burnier neighbourhood of Juiz de Fora on February 24 [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]The mayor of Juiz de Fora, Margarida Salomao, said that at least 20 landslides had been reported in the area, and some homes collapsed.“Many people were inside their homes at night when it was raining,” Major Demetrius Goulart of the fire brigade told AFP. “We have hope. We found a boy this morning. He was inside a house, under the rubble. It took the team two hours of work.”