Porto Alegre, Brazil— A hillside collapsed onto a rural home in Rio Grande do Sul early Saturday, killing one person and reducing the structure to mud and broken timber.
Civil Defense said the slide occurred after hours of heavy rain that saturated soil on slopes already weakened by previous storms. The house sat below a steep embankment.
Neighbors heard a low rumble before dawn. By the time they reached the site, the home had been split in half. Roof beams and furniture were buried under earth.
Firefighters from the state corps worked with shovels and an excavator. They found the victim trapped under debris in what had been a bedroom. The body was recovered after two hours of digging.
Two other residents escaped with minor injuries. They were inside when the wall cracked and ran before the main mass came down.
“The whole hill moved at once,” said a local resident who lives 100 meters away. “We tried to pull them out, but the mud kept coming.”
Officials said the area had been under a weather alert since Friday. Rainfall totals in some municipalities exceeded 120 millimeters in 24 hours. More slides have been reported on rural roads.
Geologists will inspect the slope for further movement. The municipality has ordered temporary evacuation of three nearby homes that show cracks in the ground.
The victim was taken to the regional medical examiner. The family has been moved to a relative’s house. Crews remain on site clearing the access road.
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