BRAZILIAN FLOODS AND LANSLIDES KILLED AT LEAST 270 PEOPLE

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Floods and landslides devastated several mountain towns near Rio de Janeiro , killing at least 270 people as torrents of water and mud swept through the region.
Hillsides and river banks in the picturesque Serrana region north of Rio buckled under the equivalent of a month’s rainfall in 24 hours, destroying houses and killing many people early Wednesday, rescue officials said.

• Television images showed many houses buried in mud as desperate residents and rescue workers searched for survivors.
• At least 130 people were killed in Teresopolis, about 62 miles (100 km) north of Rio, town officials said. At least 20 people were killed in the city of Petropolis, and 107 in the town of Nova Friburgo, state officials said in an e-mailed statement.
• The number of victims was expected to rise as rescuers find more bodies and reach more remote areas. About 50 people were believed missing just in Teresopolis, Mayor Jorge Mario said.
• Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed a decree releasing 780 million reais ($460 million) in reconstruction funds for the affected areas. She was due to fly over the region on Thursday.
• Thousands of people in the region were isolated by the floodwaters and cut off from power and telephone contact.
• The downpour caused at least one river to burst its banks, submerging cars and destroying houses in Teresopolis, television images showed.
• Rio state Governor Sergio Cabral said in a statement he had asked the Navy for aircraft to take rescue crews and equipment to the region, which was partially cut off from Rio by road.
• In Nova Friburgo, three firemen were missing after being buried by a mudslide while they tried to rescue victims, according to fire officials. One three-story house collapsed on Tuesday, killing three people, including two children.

Buses and trucks were shown stranded on streets with floodwaters reaching up to their windows.
Many poorer Brazilians are especially vulnerable to landslides because they live in unsafe, illegal housing, often built precariously on hillsides. Major landslides in April in the Rio killed about 180 people in slum communities.

Source: Reuters