Brazilian President Announces Credit To States Hit By Severe Storms

31 Jan. Kathmandu : Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Thursday the release of credit lines amounting to 892 million reals (209.4 million U.S. dollars) to the states of Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro, which were deeply affected by heavy storms over the past weeks.

“The government came here with seven ministers to present what we managed to get so far from the federal government,” Bolsonaro said. Accompanied by seven ministers and the governor of Minas Gerais, Bolsonaro flew over the affected cities in Minas Gerais state, which suffered the most damage by the storms.

The state’s capital city Belo Horizonte, one of the largest cities in Brazil, had the rainiest month of January in 110 years. Minas Gerais registered 55 deaths caused by the storms, mudslides and construction collapses. The majority of those deaths took place in the Belo Horizonte metro area, where it rained this month almost as much as it rained in the entire year of 2019 in the region.

A total of 101 towns declared a state of emergency and five declared a state of calamity. Some 53,000 people had to leave their homes. In Espirito Santo state, 10 deaths were registered. Sixteen towns declared a state of emergency and two declared a state of calamity. In Rio de Janeiro state, two people died and eight towns declared a state of emergency. RSS/Xinhua