One of the things I noted this time last year when I visited Rio de Janeiro was the perilous situation of the poorest areas of informal housing, the favelas or morros when it comes to flooding and landslides. Just in the last 24 hours, huge amounts of rain has caused land and debris slides that have killed around 100 in the state according to the BBC, and in particular 13 people have been killed in Morro dos Prazeres, a favela I visited with my colleague Paola, according to The Guardian*. The centre of the city is deep in water. My thoughts are with all the people I met last year in Rio, and all the communities affected by this disaster.
ubisurv 
yes… and what is really sad is that the media on the tragedy is always so sensacionalist, interested in making a soap opera of it. looses the oportunity to discuss what has to be discussed: projetcts for hidro studies, fluviary solutions, égouts, and so on. Eduardo Paes is a joke; with his trenchcoat, speaking as if he was not responsible for it.
And now, 200 people are feared dead in Niteroi, across the bay, in a mudslide.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8608718.stm
This may not be the last. The slides can occur some time after the rains have loosened ground…
It probably wouldnt be so bad if they didnt chop down all the trees! It’s funny how it always happens in the poorest areas too, they wouldnt dare log near the homes of the rich!