At least 35 people perished on Friday and Saturday due to torrential rainfall in northeastern Brazil as downpours pounded two major cities on the Atlantic coast. This is the fourth significant flooding catastrophe to strike the South American nation in the past five months.

According to the official Twitter account for the state of Pernambuco, at least 33 people had perished as of Saturday afternoon due to rainfall that triggered landslides that swept out hillside urban districts. According to the state government, 765 more people were forced to abandon their houses, at least temporarily.

According to Brazil's federal emergency service, authorities in the nearby state of Alagoas reported two fatalities.

Scores were killed between late December and early January, and tens of thousands were displaced in northeastern Brazil's Bahia state due to heavy rainfall. In late January, at least 18 people perished in flooding in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo. In February, more than 230 people were murdered by severe downpours in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro state.

While the bulk of Brazil had a terrible drought throughout 2021, hefty rains began to fall in the year's final months.

The often-fatal flooding that ensued sparked debate over the probable influence of climate change on Brazil's erratic weather pattern and drew attention to the country's frequently haphazard urban development.

Many of the fatalities that happened on Friday and Saturday occurred in Recife, the state capital of Pernambuco. As in many Brazilian urban areas, numerous communities in Recife have been constructed in places susceptible to land and mudslides.

According to local media, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro assembled a federal task force to send to Pernambuco on Saturday.

Leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his primary opponent in an October presidential race, bemoaned the flooding on Twitter.

He stated, "My solidarity to the families in the metropolitan area of Recife who are suffering from the heavy rains."