More than 94 people are feared dead in Brazil after intense rainfall caused mudslides and flooding that has destroyed part of the city of Petrópolis. A similar disaster in the region back in 2011 left more than 900 people dead. Intense rains started on Tuesday 15th February causing mudslides that brought down dozens of homes on the hillsides of Petrópolis and caused massive flooding and damage on the streets below.

Firefighters and desperate residents searched through the mud and floods for relatives who are feared dead and or trapped underneath the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro. Weather experts are attributing extreme weather events to global warming. The Brazilian region is known for extreme weather conditions and events, where hot-air masses coming from the coast, clash with colder temperatures at higher altitudes that eventually cause the storms.

Heavy rains are very common during Brazil’s summer months. But most experts agree extreme weather events are becoming worse. In December, floods killed at least 20 people and displaced some 50,000 in the country’s northeast. And last month, dozens were killed in São Paulo and Minas Gerais when torrential rains swept through the two states.