Rescuers battle against the devastating effects of heavy rains to save lives in Brazil, Australia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines
The death toll from some of the worst landslides in Brazilian history continued to rise last night with at least 443 confirmed victims as rain and floods continued to pound Australia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
Nearly all of those killed in Brazil were buried alive in their homes in the early hours of Wednesday. At least 13,000 people have been left homeless by the disaster which focused on three towns in the mountains north of Rio de Janeiro.
"It is a very dramatic moment; the scenes are very powerful, the suffering is very visible and the risk is very serious," Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, said following a brief visit yesterday.
Teres�polis, a tourist town around 60 miles north of Rio, was one of the hardest hit areas; by last night at least 176 deaths had been confirmed here. Local authorities were preparing to erect floodlights in the cemetery in order to hold round-the-clock burials. The town's streets filled with pick-up trucks packed with fleeing residents.
"We can't be certain about reducing the impact of the rains, but we cannot allow people to die ? this is our mission," Rousseff said.
Floods in Australia have left parts of Brisbane looking "like a war zone", according to the Queensland premier, Anna Bligh. Peak waters were lower than predicted, but 12,000 homes were flooded in the city of 2 million, and 118,000 buildings were left without power. Bligh said restoration efforts would cost as much as A$5bn (�3.1bn).
In eastern Sri Lanka, days of heavy rain have affected more than 1 million people and forced 325,000 from their homes. So far, 23 people have died. In central and southern parts of the Philippines rain, floods and landslides have killed 42 and displaced nearly 400,000, with more than 1bn pesos (�14.5m) of damage.
The Australian and Philippine floods have been linked to the La Ni�a weather pattern, which causes Pacific sea temperatures to cool, bringing more rainfall in the western Pacific, and less in the east.
Omar Baddour, of the World Meteorological Organisation, said a link between climate change and La Ni�a remained unclear. He said: "As we know, extreme events ? whether their cause is due to La Ni�a or El Ni�o or other factors ? will be more intense in the era of climate change."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/13/floods-landslides-sweep-hundreds-deaths
Caribbean Lee Carsley Radio industry Bank of England Argentina Dmitry Medvedev
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