Tragic moment woman, 61, is dragged away in flash flood after powerful storm hits Brazil
This is the tragic moment a 61-year-old woman frantically pleaded for help as she was swept away in floodwaters in Brazil before she drowned.
Video recorded by a bystander shows a woman, identified by Duque de Caxias municipality government officials as Fátima Fernandes, lying face down and trying to keep her head above water as the flash flood dragged her down a street in the district of Xerém on Tuesday.
The powerful storm also killed a 16-year-old girl after she was swept away in the flood after the storm caused the region's Saracuruna River to overflow.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
A bystander recorded the moment 61-year-old Fátima Fernandes was swept by a flood in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, on Tuesday, Fernandes was one of two residents reported dead by city officials
Officials in Duque de Caxias city reported that Tuesday's storm left 150 people homeless and destroyed three houses
At least one of the victims was rushed to Adão Pereira Nunes Hospital in the town Jardim Primavera, where she was pronounced dead.
Mayor Washington Reis told TV Globo on Wednesday that the city would be assuming the funeral costs for both victims.
Duque de Caxias city hall officials reported that the storm left 150 people homeless and destroyed three houses.
Fátima Fernandes struggles to stay afloat before she died after she was swept away in flood waters caused by an overflowing river in Duque de Caxias, Brazil, on Tuesday
Reis said the civil defense ministry was already working on assessing the damages caused to the homes and that families would be placed in shelters or assist families in finding new homes through a government program.
The National Center for Monitoring and Natural Disaster Events reported the storm drenched the Duque de Caxias with 8.74 inches of rain. The storm system left behind 3.1 inches of rain in Xerém district, more than half of what was expected for the entire month of December.
