Families of flood victims in southeastern Brazil begin burying their dead

Описание: (25 Feb 2026)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Juiz de Fora, Brazil - 25 February 2026
1. Various of landslide area
2. Various of people removing mud and debris from the street
3. Various of friends and relatives at the funeral and burial of 11-year-old Bernardo Lopes, a victim of heavy rains and flooding
4. Burial of 11-year-old Bernardo Lopes
5. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Ricardo Dutra, 43-year-old, father of 11-year-old Bernardo Lopes, a victim of heavy rains and flooding:
"At the moment, we're trying to pick up the pieces, understanding that I still have my wife and my daughter, who are in the hospital, but from him, only good memories remain: living intensely, loving intensely, and truly living intensely, even in sports."
6. Juiz de Fora resident, Dalvam Luiz
7. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Dalvam Luiz 35-year-old, Juiz de Fora resident:
"A feeling of helplessness. Watching it happen. Houses collapsing. People trapped in the rubble. And you can't do anything more."
9. House partially collapsed
10. Samuel Gonçalves showing his house collapsed by landslide
11. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Samuel Gonçalves, 17-year-old student:
"I looked out the window, there was a rock under my window. I said, 'wow, the embankment is collapsing.' As it had happened before with the embankment collapsing here, I said, 'oh no, the embankment is collapsing at my house.' Then right away I went outside, and when I went outside, I went to the neighbor's house, and as I went to the neighbor's house, the embankment started collapsing on the sides. Then I went outside, and when I looked, everything had collapsed."
12. Dog named Lucky being held by firefighters after rescue from the site where homes collapsed

STORYLINE:
Families of those killed in the devastating floods in southeastern Brazil began burying the dead on Wednesday, as the death toll climbed to at least 40 in the state of Minas Gerais.

All the victims found so far are in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 310 kilometers (192 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro. Some 30 people are still missing and more than 3,000 residents have been forced to leave their homes as of Wednesday morning, according to Minas Gerais’s fire department.

Among the victims is 11-year-old Bernardo Lopes Dutra who died after the rain caused his house to collapse.

“It’s a tragedy that no one was expecting,” his father, Ricardo Dutra, said at the funeral in Juiz de Fora.

He described Bernardo as “a boy with a big heart who, in his own way, touched everyone around him.” Dutra's wife and daughter were still in a hospital.

The streets of Juiz de Fora, a city of 560,000, were covered in mud as authorities feared more landslides. Life in neighboring Uba, with its 107,000 residents, came to a stop. Classes were suspended in both cities, their mayors said.

Juiz de Fora's City Hall said in a statement that around 600 families living in endangered areas were about to be relocated to local schools improvised as shelters and that the city experienced double the rain expected for February.

Mayor Margarida Salomão said at least 20 landslides had been reported since the torrential rain began Monday evening.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on his social media channels Tuesday that security forces have been deployed on rescue missions and are providing immediate assistance to the population affected by the rain.

He also said health care teams were sent to the region, which lies close to hills, valleys and slopes.

Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.

AP video by: Mario Lobao and Diarlei Rodrigues

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