According to officials, at least 106 people have been killed by flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain in northeastern Brazil, as rescue workers continue their desperate search and an expert warns that if authorities do not protect poor communities in high-risk areas, sources, more tragedies will occur.

Jardim Monteverde, a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Recife, was ravaged by the force of the landslides, which tore apart homes in the area. Locals have compared the raging mudslide to a tsunami.

"It was unfortunate. I have lost many friends "Maria Heronize, 49, told the AFP news agency that she was on the point of tears.

Saturday's flooding ravaged the area, resulting in the discovery of scores of buried remains by rescue personnel.

Six other bodies — the last of those reported missing in the area – were located on Friday, bringing the search to a conclusion, according to the state administration of Pernambuco.

Elsewhere, at least eight people are still missing, according to disaster management officials for the state, where the most recent in a string of devastating weather catastrophes to strike Brazil in recent months occurred.

Dogs trained to detect people and aircraft are being used to locate the missing.

At least 24 municipalities in Pernambuco have declared a state of emergency, and over 6,000 people have been displaced or forced to evacuate their homes.

We will grieve additional fatalities.

President Jair Bolsonaro was criticized for sounding indifferent when he stated, "unfortunately these tragedies happen, a country the size of a continent has its share of problems."

In Brazil, weather-related disasters are becoming increasingly common. Poor neighborhoods are typically the hardest damaged, especially favelas or slums on hilltops.

Jose Marengo, the research coordinator at the National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts, told AFP, "Climate change could be responsible for the rise in extreme, violent rain that is being detected not only in Brazil but around the world,"

Marengo observed that unless authorities take action to safeguard vulnerable communities in high-risk locations, these tragedies will likely continue to occur as the climate catastrophe worsens.

"The rainy season is just starting in the northeast, and we may see a lot more such phenomena this year," added Marengo.

If people and cities are not prepared, there will be an increase in fatalities.

In February, 233 people were murdered in floods and landslides in Rio de Janeiro state's historic southern city of Petropolis.

At least 28 people were killed by severe rains in southeastern Brazil in January, predominantly in the state of Sao Paulo.