A short burst of torrential rain caused flooding chaos in the city of Belo Horizonte and other areas of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, on Friday, 16 March, 2018.
Minas Gerais Civil Defense issued a statement urging people to stay in their homes and to avoid travel. Social media showed videos and images of cars being dragged along streets. The fire service received hundreds of calls to deal with flooding, wall collapses and falling trees.
Emergency teams were called on to rescue two people from a house that collapsed in Bairro 1 de Maio neighbourhood. One of the victims was seriously injured.
According to Civil Defense, 74.6 mm of rain fell in just 20 minutes, which is around half the historical average for the month. Other areas of the city recorded over 50 mm of rain, causing several water bodies in the city to overflow.
Social Media
MG: Forte chuva alaga ruas e avenidas em BH https://t.co/wxd5XhAJgt #G1 pic.twitter.com/auqtSx01xd
— G1 (@g1) March 16, 2018
Carros são arrastados após forte chuva em Belo Horizonte nesta sexta-feira.
Entre os bairros mais afetados estão São Bento, Prado, Sagrada Família, Lourdes e Floresta. pic.twitter.com/mSZyxMuTQy
— Leandro Gouveia (@LeandroGouveia) March 16, 2018
Chuva BH
Prado 2 pic.twitter.com/15s5p2Vvm7— Fabrício Cabido (@FABRCIO_CABIDO) March 16, 2018
Flood Summary
Locations
B - Bairro 1 de Maio
Magnitude
Belo Horizonte - March 16 to March 16, 2018
The rain fell in a 20 minute period.
Damages
Belo Horizonte - March 16 to March 17, 2018
