Death Toll In Sao
Paulo Storms Reaches 69
RIO DE JANEIRO - The death toll of heavy
storms which have wrecked Brazil's Sao Paulo
state since December had reached 69, local
authorities said on Friday.
A couple and their 14-year-old daughter were
killed in a mudslide that destroyed their
home in the town of Francisco Morato late
Thursday. The family moved in the house only
a week ago.
An adjacent house, shared by four of the
family's relatives, was also destroyed, but
the occupants managed to escape with only
minor injuries.
In the state's capital city Sao Paulo,
rescue teams found the body of a 12-year-old
boy in a sewer drain.
The local civil defense services said that
31 municipalities in Sao Paulo state had
declared a state of emergency, and more than
5,100 people were left homeless over the
past two months.
As rain was expected to continue until the
end of the week, the Cantareira dam system
in the state would continue operating in
full capacity. Some 900 families, however
were forced to evacuate as water level of a
nearby river rose sharply after the dam's
spillways were opened this week to avoid
flooding in the reservoir.
If all dams in the Cantareira system
overflow, a total of 6,000 people in 12
neighboring municipalities would have to
abandon their homes.
The storms also seriously affected the
state's capital Sao Paulo city in the past
two months, inundating the neighborhood of
Jardim Romano for two weeks in December, and
flooding it again weeks later.
The Sao Paulo General Warehousing and
Centers Company (Ceagesp), the largest food
distribution center in Brazil, was twice
flooded. Tons of food were destroyed, and
the total damages were estimated at 30
million reais (16.1 million U.S. dollars).
This month has seen the heaviest rainfall
for January in more than 60 years in the Sao
Paulo area. So far rainfall had reached
468.6 millimeters, a record high since 1947,
said Brazil's National Meteorology
Institute.
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