Mudslides Kill Six in Southeastern Brazil
Created: 2012-01-05 08:31 EST
Category: World > South America
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Heavy rains which have been lashing southeastern Brazil since December, sparked a number of mudslides on Tuesday.
So far six people were killed.
In the city of Ouro Preto, located in Brazil's largest mining state, a landslide wiped out a bus station, killing two taxi drivers who were parked outside the building.
[Romero Cesar Gomes, Geologist]:
"(The landslide covered) around 40 meters. So the dimensions of this event are of a huge magnitude."
The death toll in the city, which currently stands at six, is expected to rise as authorities said another person remains missing.
The state of Minas Gerais has borne the brunt of the heavy rains with authorities putting some 50 towns in the state on high alert for mudslides.
Other landslides led to road closures and caused severe traffic jams.
Authorities say the municipality of Nova Friburgo, in Rio de Janeiro state, was also hit by landslides that destroyed some homes.
Last year, heavy rains in Rio de Janeiro created rivers of mud and flood water that battered a handful of towns, killing at least 900 people and uprooting thousands of families.
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