Death toll reaches 47 in Brazil mudslides

The neighborhood of Jabotao dos Guararapes in Recife, northern Brazil, is completely flooded Tuesday after heavy rains

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -- Mudslides triggered by five days of torrential rains in Brazil's northeast have killed at least 47 people and forced 120,000 to abandon their homes in the region's worst flooding in 25 years, officials said on Wednesday.

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso flew on an impromptu visit to the poverty-stricken northeastern states of Pernambuco and Alagoas to assess damage and oversee rescue efforts as frightened residents braced for more rain.

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"We're in a truly critical state," said Liara Nogueira, a spokeswoman for the Alagoas state government.

"Thousands of people are seeking shelter in schools and gyms and anywhere else that we can find. There's no electricity and little food in many towns," she told Reuters.

Both states have declared states of emergency or high alert in a total of 46 cities and towns as troops moved in to help clear roads and dig away the mountains of mud that have covered many neighborhoods. They also plan to provide helicopters to carry flood victims to hospitals and shelter.

So far the rains have caused dozens of avalanches of mud, buried homes and swept away roads and bridges, hindering the rescue work. Television images showed entire towns partially submerged in water and residents crawling out of splintered wooden shacks.

The bodies of a mother and her daughter lay covered after they were pulled out of a mudslide in the town of Camaragibe on Tuesday

"This is the worst damage from a natural disaster that we've had since floods in 1975," Carlos Alberto D'Albuquerque, a Pernambuco civil defense official, told Reuters.

While rains let up in Pernambuco and some residents started returning to their rain-drenched homes, the floods continued to pound Alagoas. Both states are expected to suffer more precipitation over the next day.

The mudslides have killed 29 people in Alagoas as they slammed into houses in mostly poor hillside slums and forced 70,000 residents to abandon their homes. Another 18 have died in neighboring Pernambuco with as many as 50,000 evacuated.

"It's still raining in the interior of the state so I imagine we'll be getting more bad news before the day is over," said Erivaldo Batista dos Santos, a fireman and the head of rescue operations.

Cardoso flew into Pernambuco's capital Recife on Wednesday morning and then headed onto Maceio, the capital of Alagoas, in a "totally improvised trip," his press office said.

Coastal regions in the northeast often experience floods during a rainy season that lasts from April to August, but this year's heavy rains have been particularly devastating.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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