Cited as one of the worst natural disasters in Brazil's history, the heavy rains caused flooding and landslides over a vast distance, not just in one area. The area affected takes one hour to drive across under normal circumstances, circling the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, where both the extremely wealthy have summer homes alongside those of lesser means. As of today the death toll is over 600 and climbing. The bodies are turning up so fast that graves are being dug with JCB diggers. Unlike Australia where the rain has stopped, the rain is continuing to fall and is deeply hampering rescue operations.
As discussed in my "beginning of the end" blog you will see footage of the devastation of the flood in Brazil, and having found this extended video today about the lady with the dog am deeply saddened to realise that the woman had at least two dogs, one which was not even around anymore by the time the rescue occurred. The dog's name was Beethoven and you can hear her yelling his name when she loses him. The rest of the footage shows the torrential flood waters which makes what happened in Queensland look tame by comparison.
A dog sits for a second consecutive day next to the grave of her owner, Cristina Maria Cesario Santana, who died in the week's catastrophic landslides, at the cemetery in Teresopolis, near Rio de Janiero, on January 15, 2011. Brazilians on Sunday prayed for victims of devastating floods after the death toll from the natural disaster rose to at least 610 and was predicted to climb again. Credit (AFP/Vanderlei Almeida)