Heavy rains in Rio de Janeiro kill at least three people and authorities have declared "a state of crisis"

The municipality of Rio de Janeiro decreed Wednesday "the state of crisis" by heavy rains, with winds of up to 110 km per hour, which caused floods, fell trees and feared landslides in the favelas. Authorities announced that there were three deaths.

The Rio Operations Center (COR) asked the Cariocas "to only move in case of extreme necessity", to warn the authorities in case of "signs of cracks" in the houses and to be attentive "sirens" that prevent landslides.

The southernmost area, the most touristy, in which are juxtaposed favelas and luxury residential areas, has been one of the most punished.

In the favela of Rocinha, the largest in the city, lost 153.2 millimeters of water in four hours, more than half of the February average.

In Copacabana, winds up to 110 km / hour blew, killing several trees on the busy avenue. Nossa Senhora from Copacabana, parallel to the beach, indicates the CoR.

An AFP journalist said that several streets emerging from the beach of Botafogo They were flooded with fallen trees and traffic jams.

Power outages also occurred in the densely populated area west and north of the city.

"The state of crisis" is the third and most important warning about precipitation that can cause floods or landslides.

The weather forecast for Thursday is moderate precipitation, with isolated gusts and moderate to strong winds. The maximum will be 31ºC, in austral summer.

Rio experienced the hottest January of this year since the beginning of the official archives in 1922, with an average temperature of 37.4 degrees Celsius.