Brazil Floods Leave 42 People Dead, 600 Missing

Days of heavy rain triggered floods and mudslides in northeastern Brazil and killed at least 42 people, left more than 600 missing, and driven off some 50,000 others from their homes. Some areas in the Brazilian states of Alagoas and Pernambuco experienced more than 36cm (14 inches) of rainfall transforming roads into lakes and burying numbers of dwellings, forcing authorities to declare these areas as disaster zones.

The Brazilian Civil Defense officials said on Sunday that many residents are now using boats for transportation after the three days of torrential raining left some areas submerged under water. Electricity and telephone services are also down in several cities. The government announced that they were allocating 100 million reais ($56 million) for relief efforts and give 20,000 baskets of basic food supplies as well as mattresses blankets for the survivors in the affected areas.

“We are praying for the missing to be found alive,” Alagoas governor Teotonio Vilela Filho said. “But we are very worried because bodies are starting to turn up on beaches and on riverbanks. Homeless

Ongoing rescue operations with emergency workers, together with the Brazilian army and navy, are currently airlifting people out of the worst-affected areas by helicopters.

The last deadly incident happened in 2009, with the flood killing scores of people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in Brazil.