BRAZIL Catastrophe: latest: jambatan runtuh; 7 maut!!

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Saturday January 2, 2010
Brazil death toll from floods, mudslides rises to 64
By Pedro Fonseca
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Rescue crews on Saturday intensified the search for victims at a plush Brazilian beach resort ravaged by mudslides and flooding that have killed at least 64 people in three states.

Brazilian rescue workers carry a body out of a mudslide-affected area near Sankay Hotel in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro January 2, 2010. Rescue crews on Saturday intensified the search for victims at a plush Brazilian beach resort ravaged by mudslides and flooding that have killed at least 64 people in three states. (REUTERS/Bruno Domingos)

Firefighters waded through mountains of mud and sifted through the remains of a lodge and homes that were destroyed in the early hours of Friday when a hillside collapsed in the luxury beach resort of Angra dos Reis, removing 35 bodies, authorities said.

Angra dos Reis, the nearby island of Ilha Grande and other towns on the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro state are a magnet for local and foreign tourists over the New Year's holiday.
Heavy rain also left several cities without power in the state of Sao Paulo, where six tourists died in a mudslide in the town of Cunha.

At least three people died because of mudslides in Juiz de Fora, a city in Minas Gerais state.
In Rio de Janeiro state, where Brazil has most of its oil reserves and has long been the nation's flagship tourist destination, the death toll climbed to 55, authorities said.

"The weather is improving, which helps us with the search, but we won't rest as long as we suspect that there are more bodies underneath the remains," said Colonel Jerri Andrade of Angra's firefighters corps and who is overseeing the search.

Television footage showed the Sankay lodge and surrounding homes in Angra buried under a mountain of reddish-brown mud. Access to the area, known as Praia do Bananal, remained difficult as roads and the beach were covered with mud and trees from the collapsed hillside.

The lodge, which can accommodate up to 50 people, was reportedly full at the time of the disaster. Victims included the 18-year-old daughter of the lodge's owners, according to O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper.

So far, there have been no reports of any foreign victims.

Earlier in the day, rainfall subsided and rescue teams, aided by helicopters and navy vessels, managed to reach the area to remove more bodies, Andrade said.

Despite the break in the weather, heavy rains are forecast for the coming days, which could make rescue work harder and trigger more mudslides, authorities said. One state that could be hit by a lengthy downpour is Parana in Brazil's south, O Globo newspaper reported on Saturday.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pledged federal assistance to Rio state Governor Sergio Cabral, who flew over the region early on Saturday to assess the damage.

Intense rainfall triggered mudslides along some points of the Rio-Santos highway, with traffic halted near the historic city of Paraty.
In some parts of Rio state, it rained more in the last four days than it normally does in a month.

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[tr][td]
Gambar merakamkan kejadian tanah runtuh di kaki bukit
menimbus sebuah hotel mewah di Praia do Bananal, Ilha
Grande, Angra dos Reis, 100 kilometer ke barat laut Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, kelmarint. – AFP[/td][/tr]

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Brazil tutup dua loji nuklear akibat banjir

ANGRA DOS REIS (Brazil): Pihak berkuasa Brazil akan menutup dua loji nuklear selepas selatan negara itu kini teruk dilanda banjir dan tanah runtuh yang kini mengorbankan 68 orang.

"Ketika ini tiada masalah babitkan operasi loji nuklear di Angra I dan Angra II, tapi tanah runtuh mungkin menimpa loji yang memerlukannya ditutup," kata Datuk Bandar, Tuca Jardao pada sidang akhbar di sini, semalam.

Kedudukan Angra sama seperti Pulau Ilha Grande apabila 29 orang maut pada Jumaat lalu akibat ditimpa tanah runtuh dan banjir.

Kejadian banjir lumpur berlaku di sekitar Rio de Janeiro sejak Rabu lalu dengan kini angka korban mencecah 68 orang.

Agensi Pertahanan Awam melaporkan lebih 4,000 penduduk di negeri berkenaan sudah dipindahkan ke tempat selamat. - AFP

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Banjir, tanah runtuh korban 72 nyawa di Brazil

ANGRA DOS REIS: Pasukan penyelamat hari ini meneruskan usaha mencari penduduk yang masih hilang atau terperangkap dalam kejadian banjir lumpur dan tanah runtuh yang kini mengorbankan 72 nyawa.

Semalam, mereka menemui mayat empat orang di Angra dos Reis, bandar yang terletak 150 kilometer di selatan ibu negara, Rio de Janeiro.

Pasukan penyelamat percaya lebih banyak mayat akan ditemui dalam beberapa hari lagi.

“Salah seorang yang ditemui seorang bayi yang tidak tersenarai sebagai mereka yang hilang.

"Bayi ini mungkin bersama seorang dewasa lain yang juga tertimbus," kata Pegawai Pasukan Pertahanan Awam, Pedro Machado.

Kejadian banjir lumpur di Angra sama dengan Pulau Ilha Grande island, yang mengorbankan 29 orang Jumaat lalu akibat ditimbus tanah runtuh.

Daripada jumlah itu, 28 orang adalah pengunjung sebuah hotel mewah yang terletak di kaki gunung di pulau berkenaan. - AFP

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Tujuh maut jambatan runtuh di Brazil

SAO PAULO: Hujan lebat di selatan Brazil menyebabkan sebuah jambatan runtuh dan menghanyutkan bersamanya kereta serta sekurang-kurangnya 20 orang dengan tujuh maut setakat ini.

Akhbar melaporkan jambatan merintangi Sungai Jacui yang terletak di laluan ERS-287, berhampiran Agudo di negeri Rio Grande do Sul itu runtuh dibawa arus deras.

“Ketika sebahagian jambatan itu runtuh, beberapa orang menghampiri untuk melihatnya sebelum semuanya dihanyutkan arus," kata anggota bomba, Menardino Weber.


Beberapa akhbar melaporkan, puluhan lagi mangsa masih hilang.

Banjir dan tanah runtuh akibat hujan lebat di Brazil setakat ini sudah mengorbankan 72 orang sejak seminggu lalu. - AFP