Brazil Continues Search for Flood Survivors
Photo: Reuters
The bodies of victims of the landslides lie on the ground in Teresopolis, 13 Jan 2011
Rescuers in Brazil are struggling to find survivors after flooding and mudslides devastated a mountain region north of Rio de Janeiro, killing at least 375 people.
Officials hoped to reach the hardest hit areas Thursday. Many homes in the region were swept away when hillsides and riverbanks collapsed under a massive rainfall Tuesday and Wednesday. More rain is expected in the coming days.
The worst hit towns were Teresopolis and Nova Friburgo. Deaths were also reported in Petropolis.
Brazil's government has allocated some $460 million in emergency aid for the affected areas. President Dilma Rousseff was to fly over the region Thursday.
Earlier in the week, heavy rains killed 13 people in Sao Paulo state.
Landslides and floods are common in Brazil, often affecting poor communities with shacks built on steep, unstable hillsides.
In January of last year, more than 50 people died in mudslides in the beach town of Angra dos Reis, and at least 180 people died in landslides last April that devastated slum communities in Rio.
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