06 April 2010

BRASIL: UPDATE: At Least 200 Feared Buried Under Mud In Slum As Death Toll Reachs 153.

AP/ GOOGLE/ UPDATE 08 ABRIL/    At least 200 people are feared to be burried under mud in a Rio slum. If confirmed, that would  raise the death toll sharply from the 153 people already known to have died this week after a historic 17 hour-long,  11 inch deluge in Rio de Janeiro city and state. Rio de Janeiro's governor declared a state of emergency while the city's mayor has told people to stay indoors. "The situation is chaos," Rio Mayor Eduardo da Costa Paes said. "All the major streets of the city are closed because of the floods." Most Rio victims died in landslides in two shantytowns near the city center. There were also many deaths in nearby Niteroi. Authorities report 104 people injured and 65 missing. Officials say mudslides threaten at least 10,000 houses in the city of 6 million people and 1,200 people were left homeless. Heavy rains are more common in January than in April.