Monday 9 December 2013

Seven dead, nine missing in Brazilian landslide


At least seven people died and nine others are missing in a landslide caused by a heavy rainstorm that buried about 20 homes on the weekend in Lajedinho, a city in the interior of the Brazilian state of Bahia, firefighters reported Sunday.

An intense downpour lasting about two hours saturated the ground enough to cause landslides on Saturday night, destroying a number of homes and leaving about 100 people homeless, according to the Civil Defense authorities in Bahia, in the northeastern part of Brazil.

Firefighters confirmed recovering seven bodies in Lajedinho, a town located some 355 kilometers (220 miles) from Salvador, the regional capital, and they are continuing to search in the mud and among the ruins of pulverized homes for nine people who are still missing.

The seven known fatalities included six women and a 3-year-old boy.

The city authorities, who have not yet calculated the material losses, are housing the homeless temporarily in a local school.

“A deluge of water fell between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.,” said Bahia Vice Gov. Otto Alencar.

According to local residents, Lajedinho experiences constant problems from rain because of its location in a depression at the bottom of a valley.

Monday 9 December 2013

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=1288163&CategoryId=14090

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