Brazil rains kill more than 600 as epidemic feared

January 16, 2011

By Queiroz Queiroz – 28 mins ago

NOVA FRIBURGO, Brazil (Reuters) – Rains that devastated a mountainous region

north of Rio de Janeiro have killed at least 626 people, Brazil's Civil Defense

agency said on Sunday, as fears of more storms and disease outbreaks

overshadowed rescue operations.

Nearly five days after rains sparked floods and massive landslides in one of

Brazil's worst natural disasters, the death toll continues to rise steadily as

rescuers dig up corpses buried by rivers of mud and reach more remote areas.

TV images showed rescue workers looking for people under mounds of debris, a

task made difficult by more rain since Saturday.

The government has made available 586 military personnel for rescue operations,

8,000 food baskets and 7 metric tons of medicine and other supplies, it said in

a statement.

O Globo newspaper said the army has helped with the rescue of 110 families in

isolated areas in Teresopolis, where 268 people have died, but people affected

by the floods increasingly complain about what they see as a lack of government

help in distributing basic goods and finding bodies.

While donations of food, water and clothing are pouring in from around the

country, many people in remote areas lacked basic supplies.

" The water started to cover the stairs and we placed some of the things over

others, but it was impossible (to save anything) with the power of the water.

Everything collapsed and we only had time to save ourselves, " said 49-year-old

de Lourdes, who is unemployed. " Everything I owned, I lost. "

The extent of the damage has posed a challenge for Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's new

president, and exposed major flaws in emergency planning and disaster prevention

in a country that aspires to attain developed-nation status in coming years.

Rousseff visited the region on Thursday and pledged a swift relief effort, but

that has yet to materialize in some of the hardest-hit areas. Anger from

survivors so far has been directed mostly at state and local authorities. The

federal government has earmarked 780 million reais ($463.5 million) in emergency

aid and Rousseff declared three days of mourning.

State health authorities have warned the population about diseases that could be

contracted by drinking or other contact with contaminated rain water. The Civil

Defense agency has also distributed vaccines against tetanus and diphtheria,

according to its website.

(Writing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa; editing by Stuart Grudgings and Mohammad

Zargham)

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