- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
- Hong Kong's New World Development replaces CEO Adrian Cheng
- Swiss central bank cuts rate again amid strong franc worries
- Germany's BASF to focus on 'core units' in major overhaul
- China admits economy facing new 'problems', vows to fix property sector
- Stock markets boosted by China hopes, tech rally
Death toll mounts from Brazil downpours as search continues
Torrential rains in northeastern Brazil have left at least 56 people dead and dozens missing, civil defense officials said Sunday, as rescuers capitalized on a lull in downpours to search for survivors.
"As of this Sunday, 56 people were confirmed dead, and another 56 remain missing in the municipalities of Recife and Olinda," in Pernambuco state, the civil defense said in a statement, adding that a further 3,957 people had lost their homes.
The disaster is the latest in a recent series of deadly landslides and floods triggered by extreme weather in Brazil.
The number of dead has mounted steadily over the weekend, with at least 28 killed in landslides, as heavy rains caused rivers to overflow and torrents of mud swept away everything in their path.
Authorities warned that heavy rain was forecast to continue Sunday, but the storm subsided in the morning.
As the weather broke, some 1,200 personnel -- some in boats or helicopters -- resumed search and rescue work, state officials said. But Minister of Regional Development Daniel Ferreira urged caution in a press conference earlier Sunday in Recife, the capital of hard-hit northeastern Pernambuco state.
"Although it has stopped raining now, we are forecasting heavy rains for the next few days," he said.
"So the first thing is to maintain self-protection measures."
Between Friday night and Saturday morning, rainfall volume reached 70 percent of what was forecast for all of May in some parts of Recife.
- 'Tragedy' -
Images circulated on local media showed rescue workers and volunteers clearing heaps of debris in Jardim Monteverde, on the border between Recife and the municipality of Jaboatao dos Guararapes, where 19 died Saturday morning in a landslide that ripped through precariously built homes.
Luiz Estevao Aguiar, who lives in a different municipality, lost 11 relatives in the disaster, he told TV Globo.
"My sister, my brother-in-law, 11 people from my family died. It was difficult... I did not expect this," he said tearfully.
Nearby, Flavio Jose da Silva has been desperately looking for his stepfather Gilvan in the rubble of what was once his house.
Shortly after it collapsed, he heard Gilvan say, "I'm here, under the ground."
"We hope to find him alive," an emotional da Silva said, pointing to a mountain of debris.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Sunday he would travel to Recife on Monday.
Over the past year, hundreds of Brazilians have died in flooding and landslides brought on by torrential downpours.
In February, more than 230 people were killed in the city of Petropolis, the Brazilian then-empire's 19th-century summer capital, in Rio de Janeiro state.
Early last month 14 more were killed by flooding and landslides in the state.
Experts say Brazil's rainy-season downpours are being augmented by La Nina -- the cyclical cooling of the Pacific Ocean -- and by climate change.
Because a hotter atmosphere holds more water, global warming increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall.
Risks from heavy rains are augmented by topography and poor construction in shantytowns built in steep areas.
According to meteorologist Estael Sias, of the MetSul agency, the heavy rains lashing Pernambuco and, to a lesser extent, four other northeastern states, are the product of a typical seasonal phenomenon called "eastern waves."
He explained that those are areas of atmospheric disturbance that move from Africa to Brazil's northeastern coastal region.
"In other areas of the Atlantic this instability forms hurricanes, but in northeastern Brazil it has the potential for a lot of rain and even thunderstorms," he said.
Y.Uduike--CPN