Community | May 05, 2009 | 6 comments

Floods and mudslides in Brazil have left 19 dead and 186,000 homeless

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30588909/

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AwesomeJosh

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30588909/

Floods and mudslides from heavy rains in northern Brazil have driven more than 186,000 from their homes and killed 19 people, officials said Tuesday.

Television images showed the rooftops of houses poking out of inundated towns and people using boats to move around in their cities. Mudslides swamped homes and forced residents to live with relatives and pack into emergency shelters.

Seven states have been affected by the rains, which have battered the region for the past months, regional civil defense departments said.

Globo's G1 Web site reported three more people died in a mudslide in Bahia state, but authorities did not immediately confirm the deaths.

Maranhao state's civil defense official Abner Ferreira said six major highways have been shut down in the state, cutting off thousands of people.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew over the hardest-hit areas delivering food baskets to shelters.

"We need to look more seriously into the climate situation these days," said Silva. "Something is changing and we still have time to fix it."

The Brazilian health ministry said it would send 265,000 doses of several types of medicine to Maranhao to aid the flood victims.

Ferreira said meteorologists forecast at least another two more weeks of heavy rains in northern Brazil...
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6 comments // Floods and mudslides in Brazil have left 19 dead and 186,000 homeless

  • Brazil617MA
    • 0
      Brazil617MA  

    • Flood in Maranhao state? You guys have no idea what that means to us from Brazill. That would be the same as hot weather in New England during the winter. It just makes no sense. I grew up hearing about the long periods of lack of rain in northeast Brazil and now it seems the Amazon river is there. Call it as you want, but the planet's temperature is really going wild.

    • 4 years ago
  • el_chivo
    • 0
      el_chivo  

    • This happens also like every 3 months in Colombia, which is a very similar geography to Brazil.

      Is hard to live with so few, now add to lost all of that few.

    • 4 years ago
  • lolitanimatronic
  • mario_a
    • 0
      mario_a  

    • hey AwesomeJosh,

      couldn't agree more. thanks for posting this, as i'm sure others will appreciate the update. i'm featuring this in 'current stories' on the homepage. tell your friends!

      mario
      online community

    • 4 years ago
  • photosnob
    • 0
      photosnob  

    • Are you sure that isnt Venice? Seriously, the weather of the world is for sure changing and we definitely need to make changes and fast!

    • 4 years ago
  • AwesomeJosh
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