- Title: BRAZIL: Rio struggles to clean up flooded streets; downpours continue
- Date: 7th April 2010
- Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (APRIL 06, 2010) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF MUD, GARBAGE AND SOAKED FURNITURE ON THE STREET GENERAL VIEW OF MUD ON THE STREET PEOPLE PUSHING A CAR MAN REMOVING WATER FROM SHOP WITH A BUCKET PEOPLE OBSERVING STREET FROM APARTMENT WINDOW VARIOUS OF MAN CLEANING CAR ENGINE (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) RIO RESIDENT, BRUNO DE SOUZA MOREIRA, SAYING: "Everyone talks about infrastructure and investments and the benefits that the World Cup and the Olympics would bring, but it's not like that at all. The truth is that all the constructions are only make-up. No one does anything to really fix things and that's why this happens. There was 12 hours of rain. This is a tropical country, 12-hour rains happen in March, everyone knows that." CLOSE OF MOTORCYCLE WHEEL FULL OF GARBAGE MOTORCYCLE VARIOUS OF WORKERS SHOVELING MUG AND GARBAGE BULLDOZER PUSHING MUD VARIOUS OF CARS AND GARBAGE ON THE STREET MAN PUSHING CAR INTERIOR OF CAR WITH MUD (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) RIO RESIDENT, ANTONIO PAULO DE OLIVEIRA, SAYING: "I've been here since 5:20 p.m. yesterday and I have nothing nor have I eaten. It's revolting. This is a wake up call for the government to see that they don't have one bit preparation to host the World Cup here. It is infuriating." TOW TRUCK LIFTING CAR WITH MUD
- Embargoed: 22nd April 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Weather
- Reuters ID: LVADOTD1E9BAUYZR932XE120O450
- Story Text: Civil defense workers in Rio de Janeiro struggled to unclog sewers and tow cars from streets as heavy downpours continued to batter Brazil's second city on Tuesday (April 6).
The heaviest rains in decades caused landslides that killed at least 89 people in Rio state and shut down transport and commerce in several cities.
Desperate residents tried to remove the muddy waters from inside their homes and cars when the rains started to recede. But showers grew strong again moments later.
Mudslides swept away shacks in Rio's hillside slums, turning the city's main lake and the sea brown after fifteen hours of heavy rain.
Morning flights in and out of the city of six million people that will host the 2016 Olympics were either canceled or seriously delayed, and many neighborhoods were cut off from power and transport.
Rio resident Bruno de Souza Moreira said authorities were not making enough investments in infrastructure.
"Everyone talks about infrastructure and investments and the benefits that the World Cup and the Olympics would bring, but it's not like that at all. The truth is that all the constructions are only make-up. No one does anything to really fix things and that's why this happens. There was 12 hours of rain. This is a tropical country, 12-hour rains happen in March, everyone knows that," he said.
Mayor Eduardo Paes said 10,000 houses remained at risk, mostly in the slums where about a fifth of Rio's population lives, often in precarious shacks that are highly vulnerable to heavy rains.
Meteorologists forecast more rain in coming days, raising fears of more mudslides as rain-drenched soil becomes heavy. The latest flooding and transportation chaos is likely to renew attention on the city's poor infrastructure as it prepares to host the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
Rio resident Antonio Paulo de Oliveira also criticized officials for the city's chaos.
"I've been here since 5:20 p.m. yesterday and I have nothing nor have I eaten. It's revolting. This is a wake up call for the government to see that they don't have one bit preparation to host the World Cup here. It is infuriating," he said.
The southern hemisphere summer has been particularly hot and rainy in Rio this year. At least 76 people died in flooding and mudslides in Brazil's most-populous states of Rio, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais in January. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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