Floods have struck the area around Rio de Jenaro in the South American nation of Brazil. 257 people have been reported dead and many more injured. President Dilma Rousseff has pledged funds for relief and reconstruction.
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At least 257 people reported dead after floods and landslides devastate towns in southeast of the country
Last Modified: 13 Jan 2011 01:07 GMT
Rains sweeping through Sao Paulo state killed 13 people and snarled transport in the country's financial capital
Floods and landslides have devastated towns in a mountainous area near Rio de Janeiro, killing at least 257 people, according to local media.
The town of Teresopolis, about 100km north of Rio, was worst hit, with at least 122 people killed, officials said on Wednesday, after hillsides and riverbanks buckled under the equivalent of a month's rainfall in 24 hours.
Two other towns in the region were also hit as the downpour sent water and mud surging through their communities.
The overall death toll is expected to rise, with about 50 people believed in Teresopolis alone, Jorge Mario, the city's mayor, told Globo television.
"Rescue teams are still arriving in the areas that have been worst affected," he said, adding that about 1,000 people had been left homeless.
"It's the biggest catastrophe in the history of the town."
'Many disappeared'
Survivors waded through waist-high water, carrying what belongings they could, trying to reach higher ground. Many tried desperately to find relatives.
"There are so many disappeared - and so many that will probably never be found," Angela Marina de Carvalho Silva, who believes she may have lost 15 relatives to the flood, told The Assciated Press news agency.
"There was nothing we could do. It was hell."
The downpour caused at least one river to burst its banks, submerging cars and destroying houses in Teresopolis.
"I saw six bodies on my street," Antonio Venancio, a 53-year-old Teresopolis resident whose house was inundated with mud but remained standing, told the Reuters news agency by telephone.
"We just don't know what to do in the face of something so horrible."
Images taken from helicopters showed torrents of water cascading down mountains over thes town of 180,000 people, and houses swamped in tons of mud.
Thousands of people in the picturesque area, known as the Serrana region, have been isolated by the flood waters and cut off from power and telephone contact.
Buses and trucks were shown stranded on streets with flood waters reaching up to their windows.
Rescue efforts
Sergio Cabral, the Rio state governor, said in a statement that he had asked the navy for aircraft to take rescue crews and equipment to the region, which was partially cut off from Rio by road.
Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo reporting from central Teresopolis said the main police station there has been turned into a morgue and many bodies were showing up that officials had to open a vacant building nearby to place them.
"Dozens of people are outside the station trying to get some identification of whether their missing family members are among the dead," said our correspondent.
"People are still in shock. They are just walking around in a daze and waiting for any news they can get."
In the town of Nova Friburgo, where more than 100 people were feared dead, four fireman were missing after being buried by a mudslide while they tried to rescue victims, according to fire officials.
On Tuesday, rains sweeping through Sao Paulo state killed 13 people and snarled transport in the country's financial capital.
Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's president, signed a measure on Wednesday sending $461m to towns in Rio and Sao Paulo states that were damaged during the rains. The money will go to repairing infrastructure and preventing future disasters.
Heavy rains common during Brazil's summer wet season were intensified this week by a cold front which doubled the usual precipitation.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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