Rio de Janerio, Jan 13 : Heavy rains in southeastern Brazil have claimed the lives of at least 11 people, including nine who were killed in landslides in the valley region of Minas Gerais state during Sunday morning, said local authorities.

According to the state fire department, landslides killed nine people and left one missing in the city of Ipatinga. The city was hit by both landslides and flooding after a downpour of 80 millimetres of rain per square metre fell in less than an hour. In response, local officials declared a 180-day state of public disaster.

In a video message on social media, Romeu Zema, the governor of Minas Gerais, announced that he would travel to Ipatinga on Monday morning (local time) to assess the disaster and arrange safer temporary housing for those displaced.

Meanwhile, in Santa Catarina, intense rainfall washed away sections of highways, killing two people and leaving one missing. The state government reported 121.4 millimetres of rain in the last 24 hours, which led to road closures. A crisis management committee has been formed to oversee rescue operations and repair the damaged roads.

Like several other countries in the world, Brazil has also been affected by severe weather conditions.

Last year, Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, set a new record for its longest dry spell, with 164 straight days without rain.

The prolonged drought fueled widespread wildfires and grassland burns, which surged across various regions of the country starting August, the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) reported.

The previous record was set in 1963, just three years after Brasilia's founding, with 163 consecutive rainless days. The city, located in Brazil's central region, is now grappling with the dual threat of extreme heat and low humidity, Xinhua news agency reported.

Authorities had issued an 'orange alert' due to the critically low humidity level of 15 per cent, combined with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius.

A report from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) highlighted a 269 per cent increase in wildfires in Brasilia in 2024 compared to previous years.

Brasilia is situated in the Cerrado biome, a vast tropical savanna, which saw record-breaking wildfires last year.

/IANS