Floods and mudslides across Rio de Janeiro state in early January 2010 killed at least 85 people and forced over 4,000 to evacuate.
Key Facts
- Confirmed deaths
- At least 85
- Hotel Sankey deaths
- At least 29
- Evacuated
- More than 4,000 people
- Worst-affected municipality
- Angra dos Reis, ~150 km SW of Rio de Janeiro
- Ilha Grande resort deaths
- At least 35
- Dead fish in lagoon
- Around 60 tons
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Heavy rainfall in the first days of January 2010 saturated hillsides across the State of Rio de Janeiro, triggering landslides and flooding. The excess runoff also blocked roads, endangered a nuclear power plant, and caused a bridge collapse in Rio Grande do Sul, killing at least seven more people.
Mudslides buried Hotel Sankey in Angra dos Reis, killing at least 29 guests, while a resort on Ilha Grande was engulfed by a separate landslide killing at least 35 people. Over 4,000 residents were evacuated, and Brazil's only operational nuclear plant was considered for temporary shutdown due to blocked evacuation routes.
At least 85 deaths were confirmed across the state. Approximately 60 tons of dead fish appeared in a Rio de Janeiro lagoon, attributed to ocean anoxia from algal blooms driven by elevated nutrient runoff from the flooding, indicating broader environmental damage beyond the immediate human toll.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 85 (flood)