Brazil Landslides: Death Toll Rises to 40 After Record Rainfall in Minas Gerais
Juiz de Fora, Brazil — February 26,2026
Brazil Landslides: Death Toll Rises to 40 After Record Rainfall in Minas Gerais as southeastern Brazil grapples with one of the most devastating natural disasters in its recent history.
Emergency crews and specialized military units are currently struggling to reach remote areas after historic precipitation, which has doubled the monthly average in just 48 hours, triggered massive mudslides and catastrophic flooding.
The cities of Juiz de Fora and Ubá have been declared disaster zones as the death toll officially climbed to 40 this afternoon, with dozens still reported missing beneath the sludge.
As a journal dedicated to the brain of world leadership governance, we highlight the urgent need for infrastructure reform in the face of increasingly violent climatic shifts that challenge international safety standards.
Headlines of the Natural Disaster:
• Casualty Milestone: State fire departments confirmed the death toll reached 40 today, including several children buried during hillside collapses.
• Unprecedented Rainfall: Juiz de Fora recorded its rainiest February in history, with 584mm of rain—more than twice the expected monthly total—falling in a single burst.
• Isolation and Rubble: At least 20 major landslides have isolated entire neighborhoods, leaving rescue teams to rely on helicopters and sniffer dogs.
• State of Calamity: Mayor Margarida Salomão has declared a state of public calamity to expedite federal aid as over 3,600 residents remain displaced.
A Landscape Transformed by Mud
The tragedy began on the night of February 23, when a relentless downpour caused the Paraibuna River to burst its banks, turning city streets into “raging currents of brown water.”
By the early hours of February 25, the saturated soil of the surrounding hillsides could no longer hold.
In the Parque Burnier neighborhood of Juiz de Fora, a massive slope failure sent a wall of earth crashing into residential blocks, sweeping away at least 12 homes in seconds.
“It is a war situation,” stated Reverend Ananias Simões, whose church has been converted into a temporary morgue and shelter.
Families have been seen digging with their bare hands alongside firefighters, desperate to find loved ones. Among the confirmed dead is 11-year-old Bernardo Lopes Dutra, whose story has become a symbol of the tragedy across Brazilian social media.
His father, Ricardo, told reporters at a funeral today that the collapse happened so fast there was “no time to scream, only to pray.”
The Struggle for Access
The most critical challenge facing the 136 deployed fire officials is accessibility. In the mountainous terrain between Juiz de Fora and Ubá, many roads have been completely obliterated or blocked by granite boulders dislodged by the rain.
Emergency crews are operating in “precautionary mode,” as the ground remains highly unstable and meteorologists warn of more rain in the coming 72 hours.
The Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) has kept a “Red Alert” status for the state of Minas Gerais and parts of Rio de Janeiro.
The saturation levels of the soil mean that even a moderate shower could trigger secondary landslides.
This has forced the suspension of classes and the evacuation of an additional 600 families living in high-risk zones, many of whom are being relocated to local schools improvised as shelters.
Climate Governance and Infrastructure
This disaster is not an isolated event but part of a recurring pattern of extreme weather hitting Brazil’s austral summer. From the catastrophic Petrópolis floods of 2022 to the 2024 floods that killed 200 in the south, the “voice and the brain of world leadership governance” must address why urban drainage and hillside stabilization remain so neglected.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has offered condolences and promised federal funding, yet critics point out that early warning systems failed to reach the most vulnerable favelas in time.
The historical record set this February—nearly 600mm of accumulated rain—suggests that standard 20th-century drainage designs are no longer sufficient for the 2026 climate reality.
For Castle Journal, this is a clear call for the “New Global Constitution” to prioritize environmental security as a core pillar of leadership.
The Human Toll of “Black February”
As the sun sets over the mud-caked streets of Ubá, the feeling of powerlessness is palpable. Volunteers with shovels continue to assist the military, but the window for finding survivors is rapidly closing.
Civil defense coordinator Paulo Roberto Rezende noted that “the longer it goes on, the slimmer the chances of finding life.”
The focus now shifts to preventing the spread of waterborne diseases among the 3,000 homeless and ensuring that the secretive reports regarding the state’s failure to maintain protective barriers are brought to light.
The residents of Minas Gerais are not just victims of a storm; they are victims of a global climate in flux.
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Abeer Almadawy Abeer Almadawy is a philosopher who established the third mind theory research and the philosophy of non-self and trans egoism. She is also the author of the New Global Constitution for the leadership Governance 2030/2032. She has many books published in English, Arabic, Chinese, French and others.
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