Mudslides and floods kill at least 117 in Brazil's Petropolis

An overview of a site of a mudslide at Morro da Oficina after pouring rains in Petropolis, Brazil February 16, 2022. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

PETROPOLIS, Brazil (Reuters) -The death toll from mudslides and floods in Brazil's colonial-era city of Petropolis rose to 117 on Thursday and was expected to increase further as the region reels from the heaviest rains in almost a century.

Heavy downpours in the afternoon, when the city recorded some 6 cm (2.36 inches) of rain, caused even more soil instability and disrupted efforts to find survivors and clean up the debris. Up to 4 cm of rain is expected overnight in the region, according to meteorologists.