Brazil floods death toll hits 97

Hungry flood survivors looted supermarkets and emergency crews tried to get aid to nearly 80,000 people driven from their homes as rain-spawned mudslides and overflowing rivers killed at least 97 people and isolated cities in southern Brazil.

Amid mounting misery in the disaster zone, 20 people were arrested for ransacking a supermarket in the hard-hit city of Itajai, where many streets were still submerged following torrential weekend rains.

Besides food, the looters tried to cart away beer, plasma TVs and a refrigerator, state police inspector Carlos Quilante said.

Nearly 100,000 people remained cut off by flooding in eight cities in Santa Catarina state, civil defence officials said in a statement.

Helicopters – some provided by the government, others donated by businesses - rescued 1,100 people, authorities said.

“The cities in the south still cannot be reached, it’s going to take some time,” Army Lt Col Jose Henrique Ruffo told Globo TV.

The weekend downpours dumped as much water on the area as it usually receives in months, cutting residents off from electricity, drinking water and food. The water shortage was so extreme that civil defence officials advised people to drink swimming pool water after boiling it for 10 minutes.

State governor Luiz Henrique da Silveira flew with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over areas devastated by floodwaters, and said Mr Silva was “shocked when he saw the Dantesque spectacle below him”.

“This is the worst environmental calamity we have ever faced,” Mr Silva said.

Civil defence chiefs said mudslides and floods killed at least 97 people, down from the 99 reported earlier after two could not be confirmed. As many as 30 were missing, and more than 78,000 people were driven from their homes.

Thousands of civil defence workers, troops and police were trying to deliver aid, and about three tons of medicine, food, water and other supplies already were distributed.

The worst-hit city was the town of Ilhota along the banks of the Itajai River, where 29 people died after waters rose 30 feet above normal. Soldiers there were trying to reach 200 people cut off since Saturday.

Twenty people died in nearby Blumenau because of mudslides, and half of the population in the renowned tourist destination of nearly 300,000 had no electricity.

Officials said it still could take days to reopen many of the region’s slide-blocked highways.

Mr Silva authorised nearly £580m (€692m) in emergency relief, with nearly half of it destined to repair roads, fund military rescue operations, repair damaged ports and provide public health assistance.