* Death toll likely to top 500, more rain expected
* Rescuers try to reach isolated areas
* President Rousseff visits region, promises help
* Soy, sugar cane and coffee crops not affected
By Sergio Queiroz and Stuart Grudgings
TERESOPOLIS, Brazil, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Rescue
workers in Brazil braced for more rain on Friday
as they struggled to reach areas cut off by
massive floods and landslides that look certain to
have killed more than 500 people.
In one of the country's worst natural disasters,
rivers of mud tore through towns in the
mountainous Serrana region outside Rio de
Janeiro, leveling houses, throwing cars atop
buildings and stranding thousands of residents.
"What happened here is absurd. It looks like the
war in Vietnam," said Albertino Lazaro, 54, who
took shelter in a gymnasium set up to house
displaced families in the town of Teresopolis,
where at least 223 people were killed.
"It's a lot better than being out there in the mud,"
he said of the shelter as children played soccer
among families sleeping on mattresses.
The death toll was 495 people, according to
official tallies late on Thursday, but rescuers had
yet to reach some of the worst-hit parts of
Teresopolis, including one neighborhood where
around 150 houses were believed to have been
destroyed.
More than 13,500 people have been left
homeless.
The flooding likely caused billions of dollars in
damage and has presented President Dilma
Rousseff with her first crisis only two weeks
after she took office.
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Brazil floods pictures http://r.reuters.com/
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Brazil floods video http://r.reuters.com/par36r
Graphic-Rainfall and coffee http://r.reuters.com/
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Beyond the loss of life and property, the damage
from the rains could further boost food prices in
parts of southeastern Brazil, a major concern for
the government.
The Serrana region is an important producer of
fruit and vegetables for the Rio area but the
floods have not affected Brazil's main crops such
as soy, sugar cane, oranges and coffee.
Rio, famed for its beaches and Carnival, will co-
host soccer's World Cup in 2014 and host the
Olympics in 2016.
"WE CAN'T STOP"
In Teresopolis, bodies had to be taken to a
nearby church after the town's morgue filled up.
Officials showed pictures of the corpses to
residents to identify family members.
In Nova Friburgo, a rural town first settled by
Swiss immigrants, at least 214 people died. In
Petropolis, once the summer residence for
Brazil's royal family, 40 people were killed, while
at least 18 died in Sumidoro.
Rousseff, who has earmarked 780 million reais
($460 million) in emergency aid, briefly visited
the region to meet local officials. The
government said it was sending 210 members
of the National Public Security Force to help
identify bodies.
Hillsides and riverbanks in the area, about 60
miles (100 km) north of Rio, collapsed after the
equivalent of a month's rain fell in 24 hours from
Tuesday night.
Rescuers worked to haul people from raging
floodwaters and combed ruined homes for
survivors, often finding only corpses.
But a 6-month-old baby was rescued from the
rubble of a house, drawing thunderous cheers
from residents.
One woman held a dog in the ruins of her house
as surging water tore at the remaining walls. She
grabbed a rope thrown from a nearby rooftop
and was pulled to safety but had to drop the dog
into the vicious current.
"The situation is critical but we have to advance.
We can't stop," said fire department colonel Jose
Paulo Miranda.
Landslides and flash floods are common in
much of Brazil, often exposing poor planning
and a lack of preventive action by authorities.
Source: Http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSN1411668720110114?ca=rdt
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