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Brazil floods leave 44 dead, 126,000 homeless
Brasilia (AFP) May 9, 2009 Severe flooding brought on by torrential rains has killed 44 people across northern Brazil and forced some 180,000 others to evacuate their homes, mainly to emergency shelters, officials said Saturday. The National Civil Defense Secretariat said deaths have occurred in eight of 11 states severely affected by the flooding, including Ceara with 12 deaths, Maranhao (nine) and Bahia (seven) in the perennially drought-stricken northeast; and eight deaths in the northern state of Amazonas. The rains and resulting floods have forced 126,376 people to shelters after they lost their homes, with another 57,000 people temporarily dislocated to stay with friends or relatives, the secretariat said. Nearly one million people in some 320 municipalities have been affected, including several areas placed under a state of emergency, with flooding on roadways leaving many towns and cities cut off from the outside world. "Maranhao is in a state of emergency due to the number of people left homeless and the many roads that have been cut off," the local government said this week in a statement. In Amazonas, the Rio Negro ("black river") has risen steadily in the past week and water has begun to filter into the central historic district of the capital Manaos. In Piaui state, local media reported widespread power outages and potable water shortages in several communities due to the heavy rains. In the state capital Teresina, residents coping with the overflowing of one of its rivers last week is now facing a similar fate with a second river. An initial government estimate put the damage at nearly 500 million dollars in the northeast, where heavy rains were continuing on the weekend. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew to inundated areas Tuesday and met with flood victims and local authorities, promising government aid. Southern Brazil, meanwhile, was experiencing its worst drought in 80 years, with authorities declaring a state of emergency in more than 100 municipalities. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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After four months of floods, Namibia begins cleanupOndangwa, Namibia (AFP) May 8, 2009 As flood waters in northern Namibia subside after nearly four months, residents are slowly repairing their homesteads, harvesting the few remaining crops and sending children back to school. "At first it was nice not having to go to school, because the floods prevented classes," 12-year-old Tangeni Shivute told AFP. "But I missed my teachers and being with the other children." He lives ... read more |
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