TERESOPOLIS, Brazil — 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.
Survivors started digging for friends and relatives with their bare
hands, kitchen utensils, whatever they could find as they waited
for help in remote neighborhoods perched precariously on steep,
washed-out hillsides.
In the remote Campo Grande neighborhood of Teresopolis, now
accessible only by a perilous five-mile hike through mud-slicked
jungle, family members pulled the lifeless bodies of loved ones
from the muck. They carefully laid the corpses on dry ground,
covering them with blankets.
A young boy cried out as his father's body was found: "I want to
see my dad! I want to see my dad!"
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.
"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.
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.
Rio, famed for its beaches and Carnival, will co-host soccer's
World Cup in 2014 and host the Olympics in 2016.
Video: Death toll rising in Brazil flooding; at least 400
dead
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 north of Rio,
collapsed after the equivalent of a month's rain fell in 24 hours
from Tuesday night.
Baby rescued
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.
Video: Woman saved by daring rescue in Brazil
"The situation is critical but we have to advance. We can't stop,"
said fire department colonel Jose Paulo Miranda.
Nineteen-year-old Geisa Carvalho and her mother were
awakened at 3 a.m. Wednesday by a tremendous rumble as
tons of muck slid down a sheer granite rock face onto their
Teresopolis neighborhood of Caleme.
Story: ‘We were like zombies,' Brazil mudslide survivor says
The power was out, but by lightning flashes they could see the
torrent of mud and water rushing just a few feet from their
home — and the remnants of their neighbors' houses that were
swept far down a hill.
"We were like zombies, covered in mud, in the dark, digging and
digging," Carvalho said.
Landslides and flash floods are common in much of Brazil, often
exposing poor planning and a lack of preventive action by
authorities.
Rousseff said the destruction was an act of God — but she also
said people died because homes were illegally built in areas prone
to slides.
"We saw areas in which mountains untouched by men
dissolved," she told reporters in Rio after the flyover. "But we also
saw areas in which illegal occupation caused damage to the
health and lives of people."
Source: Http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41070295/ns/weather/
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