Brazil rescuers end search after storms that killed 128

Emergency workers in Brazil ended their search Friday for victims of deadly floods and landslides that hit the country's northeast, after finding the body of the last person reported missing, bringing the death toll to 128, officials said.

Days of torrential rain late last month in the region around Recife, the capital of Pernambuco state, triggered flash floods and violent landslides that wiped out virtually everything in their path.

The last body, that of a woman buried beneath a landslide in the city of Camaragibe, just outside Recife, was recovered Friday morning, officials said.

"We have ended the search for the missing. I want to send my condolences and solidarity to the families of the 128 victims," Governor Paulo Câmara said in a statement.

He said the state would hold three days of official mourning for the victims, 32 of whom were children.

The state government announced it would also pay emergency aid of 1,500 reais (around US$315) each to 82,000 families that lost their homes or property in the disaster.

Brazil has been hit by a series of deadly storms in recent months that experts say are being made worse by climate change.

Poor communities — especially hillside "favelas," or slums — are typically hit hardest.

In February, 233 people were killed in floods and landslides in the historic southeastern city of Petropolis, in Rio de Janeiro state.

In January, torrential rains claimed at least 28 lives in southeastern Brazil, mostly in São Paulo state.

— TIMES/AFP