Heavy rains in the last two weeks have caused heavy flooding and mudslides in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The most affected areas have been the slums and shanty towns ("favelas") in Petr6polis, Duque de Caxias and Paracambi. Rio de Janeiro city, Niteroi, Japari, B. Jardim, B. Roxo and other towns have been also affected.

The Civil Defense's report of 26 December

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Rescue workers raised the death toll from heavy Christmas Eve rains and mudslides in Rio de Janeiro state to 52 on Thursday and warned the number could still rise, as President Fernando Henrique Cardoso toured the disaster area.

"It breaks my heart," Cardoso told reporters during his visit to neighborhoods most devastated by the rains, pledging unspecified aid for the state as a "presidential urgency," but making clear its release was tied up in red tape.

As the skies cleared on Thursday, teams

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 26 (AFP) - The death toll from massive landslides triggered by torrential rains in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state rose to 49 Wednesday as rescue teams recovered more victims from under the mud.

Six more bodies were found under debris in Petropolis, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the capital, that has suffered the most significant damage, civil defense officials said.

But the number of those left homeless by the disaster was revised downward -- from 2,000 to about 1,300 people.

Another 20 people remained missing as

Ref: 2001/0073
OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Offshore Oil Platform Accident - Brazil
21 March 2001

Incident Details

1. On Thursday, 15 March, an offshore oil platform belonging to the Brazilian oil company, Petrobras, suffered a series of explosions that resulted in a number of casualties and caused severe structural damage. Initially, the platform leaned dangerously as a result of damage to one of the support columns, and then gradually began to sink.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - A day after the world's biggest oil rig sank deep to the ocean floor off Brazil's coast spewing oil and fuel, the offshore platform's owners said the spill was being contained.

The 40-story rig was damaged by a series of blasts last Thursday that killed 10 crew and sank on Tuesday after five days of expensive, risky, but fruitless salvage works.

Only one body has been recovered and the platform, which lies at the depth of 0.84 miles, is now also a grave for nine workers, to the anger of their relatives.

The accident has sparked fears of a massive oil spill, despite assurances from Petrobras that the slick would not wash up on the beach.

The 210-meter-high (690-foot-high) rig, which had been in operation less than a year, took more than 1.5 million liters (330,000 gallons) of oil with it as it headed 1,368 meters (4,514 feet) down to the ocean floor.