At least 51 people died in and around Rio de Janeiro in heavy rain since late Monday, which caused widespread flooding and generally wreaked havoc in Brazil's second-largest city, dpa reported. According to an official Civil Defence report issued Tuesday, 26 people were killed within the city of Rio, in mudslides that ravaged precarious homes in "favelas" (slums). A further 23 people died in the nearby towns of Niteroi and Sao Goncalo, while the rain claimed one life in each of the towns of Petropolis and Nilopolis, in Rio's metropolitan area. The most serious cases happened in the Rio neighbourhood of Santa Teresa, where a mudslide buried shanty homes in the Morro dos Prazeres favela, killing 12 people. Five other people died as their home collapsed in the Morro dos Macacos favela, in the Vila Isabel neighbourhood. Rio de Janeiro state Governor Sergio Cabral made a desperate call to stop improvised occupations of land on the city's hillsides, which he regarded as the main cause behind the loss of life. "We have to put an end to the populace-pleasing trend of allowing irregular occupations in areas of known mudslide risk, " Cabral said. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes asked locals to remain at home, arguing that the city is currently in "absolute chaos" given that key avenues have been flooded. "On a zero-to-10 scale, the degree to which Rio is prepared for rain like this is zero," Paes said as he commented on the situation 15 hours into the downpour. Universities, schools and courts suspended their activity, as did the local legislature. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva cancelled a visit to Rio which was scheduled for Tuesday. According to the meteorology institute ClimaTempo, the first 14 hours of rain starting late Monday poured on the area double the 99 millimetres that constitute the average rainfall for April. Rio de Janeiro is set to host in 2016 the first Olympic Games ever held in South America.
