Brazil hit by killer floods

HEAVY rains which have caused landslides and flooding across southeast Brazil have killed over 150 people according to reports from the region.

The worst affected areas are in the mountainous region surrounding the beachfront city of Rio de Janeiro.

A spokeswoman for Rio de Janeiro’s state secretary for health and civil defence confirmed 11 people were killed in the mountain resort city Teresópolis, while in nearby Novo Friburgo seven residents died, and six deaths were recorded in the old imperial city of Petrópolis.

The official death toll, however, was sure to climb as local press reports indicated at least 60 deaths across the region, including at least 48 in Teresópolis.