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767 dead, 400 missing in Brazil storms
Source: Xinhua |
January 22, 2011, Saturday
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Online Edition
Online Edition
TEN days after the storms that devastated several towns in Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil, the death toll from the disaster has reached 767, local authorities said yesterday.
According to the authorities, the figure is likely to increase, as some 400 people remain missing, presumed buried under tons of mud that swept entire neighborhoods.
Some 70,000 people were reportedly affected by the storms, over 20,000 had to leave their homes due to floods and mudslides.
Stories of tragedies and miraculous rescues are abundant in the region. In the town of Teresopolis, a man named Magno Andrade had to break his 15-year-old son's leg in order to free him from debris.
"His leg was really stuck. My mother-in-law and I had to really break his leg to take him out," said Andrade.
The state of the roads in the region is still very bad, but most areas are now reachable by vehicles. The water and electricity network is still not fully restored, and communication remains difficult in the most isolated neighborhoods and in the rural areas of the damaged towns.
In Nova Friburgo, the beginning of the school year in the public schools, which was scheduled on February 7, has to be postponed, as at least 30 schools are serving as temporary shelters to those left homeless by the storms.
President Dilma Rousseff released yesterday 400 million reais (US$239 million) to the damaged town in Rio state. With the amount, the total resources released by the federal government to the damaged areas reached 1.1 billion reais (US$658 million).
According to the authorities, the figure is likely to increase, as some 400 people remain missing, presumed buried under tons of mud that swept entire neighborhoods.
Some 70,000 people were reportedly affected by the storms, over 20,000 had to leave their homes due to floods and mudslides.
Stories of tragedies and miraculous rescues are abundant in the region. In the town of Teresopolis, a man named Magno Andrade had to break his 15-year-old son's leg in order to free him from debris.
"His leg was really stuck. My mother-in-law and I had to really break his leg to take him out," said Andrade.
The state of the roads in the region is still very bad, but most areas are now reachable by vehicles. The water and electricity network is still not fully restored, and communication remains difficult in the most isolated neighborhoods and in the rural areas of the damaged towns.
In Nova Friburgo, the beginning of the school year in the public schools, which was scheduled on February 7, has to be postponed, as at least 30 schools are serving as temporary shelters to those left homeless by the storms.
President Dilma Rousseff released yesterday 400 million reais (US$239 million) to the damaged town in Rio state. With the amount, the total resources released by the federal government to the damaged areas reached 1.1 billion reais (US$658 million).
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