Heavy rainfall leaves 6 dead, thousands displaced in Pernambuco, Brazil

The Pernambuco Military Fire Department reported six deaths, including five caused by landslides in the Recife Metropolitan Region and one caused by a person being swept away by floodwater in São Lourenço da Mata, according to the Brazilian News Agency. The victims included a 6-month-old baby, a 1-year-old child, and a 7-year-old child.

Pernambuco Governor Raquel Lyra declared a state of emergency on Saturday, May 2, in the affected municipalities to accelerate access to public funds. The state government said Civil Defense teams and the Pernambuco Military Fire Department had carried out more than 800 rescue actions and activated 29 shelters for affected residents.

Pombos, Timbaúba, Itambé, Goiana, Moreno, Recife, Olinda, and Jaboatão dos Guararapes were among the municipalities with the highest numbers of displaced residents.

The National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters said parts of northeastern Brazil, including the Recife region, remained under moderate hydrological risk on May 3. The agency said the possibility of new flash floods, urban canal overflows, and flooding in poorly drained areas because of soil moisture, previous rainfall accumulations, and light rain in the forecast.

Flooding concerns also remained along the Capibaribe Mirim floodplain, where river levels were above the overflow threshold, as well as along the Goiana and Tracunhaém rivers. The agency said impacts were particularly possible in Itambé and Goiana.

Moderate risk also remained in effect for the Recife region. The National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters said rainfall accumulated over the previous 48 hours, combined with forecast light rain, could trigger isolated landslides on susceptible slopes in the Recife and João Pessoa regions.

Flooding and landslides disrupted federal highways in Pernambuco, according to the National Department of Transport Infrastructure. Points on BR-101/PE at km 60, km 83, and km 86 were fully blocked by rainwater and river flooding during the May 1 holiday period.

By May 2, km 60 had been fully reopened, km 83 was operating with one lane in each direction, and km 86 had traffic flowing. The department warned that new blockages remained possible if additional showers occurred.

The National Department of Transport Infrastructure also reported a landslide at km 23 of BR-101/PE without traffic blockage. Localized landslides were also reported along BR-408/PE between Carpina and Jaboatão dos Guararapes and between Carpina and Timbaúba, but did not affect the carriageway.

The Ministry of Integration and Regional Development had earlier deployed federal Civil Defense teams to Pernambuco to support rescue operations and emergency response.

References:

¹ Pernambuco confirma sexta morte relacionada a temporais – Agencia Brasil – May 2, 2026

² 03/05/2026 – Previsão de riscos geo-hidrológicos – CEMADEN – May 3, 2026

³ At least six dead, thousands displaced as heavy rains hit northeastern Brazil – Reuters – May 2, 2026

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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