Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, global warming increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last month, torrential rain triggered floods and landslides that killed at least 28 people in southeastern Brazil, mostly in Sao Paulo state.<\/p>\n

There have also been heavy rains in the northeastern state of Bahia, where 24 people died in December.<\/p>\n

It is not the first time the mountains around Rio have been the scene of deadly storms.<\/p>\n

In January 2011, more than 900 people died in the region due to heavy rains that caused flooding and landslides in a large area, including Petropolis and neighboring cities Nova Friburgo and Teresopolis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At least 55 people were killed in devastating flash floods and landslides that hit the picturesque Brazilian city of Petropolis, turning streets into torrential rivers and sweeping away houses, officials said Wednesday.   Rescue workers raced to find survivors buried in the mud and wreckage after heavy storms Tuesday dumped a month’s worth of rain in three hours on the scenic tourist town in the hills north of Rio de Janeiro. There were fears the death toll could rise further as firefighters and volunteer rescue workers dug through the remains of houses washed away in torrents of mud, many of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567,562],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news","category-yeswecantv-news","post_format-post-format-video"],"yoast_head":"\n