SAO PAULO, Nov 25, 2008 (AFP) - Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain pounding southern Brazil for nearly two months have killed at least 84 people and forced more than 54,000 to flee, regional Civil Defense officials said Tuesday. More than 1.5 million people have been affected by the heavy rains, and eight cities in the state of Santa Catarina remained cut off by water and blocked roads, officials say. The region has been under a state of emergency since Saturday. The region faces "the worst weather tragedy in history," Santa Catarina Governor Luiz Henrique da Silveira told reporters on Monday, adding that authorities did not know exactly how many people were missing. Civil Defense officials also said the death toll could rise considerably as casualty reports come in from rural areas. With the latest figures released Tuesday the death toll climbed from 67 to 84, and the number of evacuees from 52,000 to more than 54,000. "Nearly 80 percent of the region is under water," said Robert Guimaraes with the Civil Defense office, adding that levels were dropping.
Most people were killed by landslides, said the head of Santa Catarina Civil Defense operations, Marcio Alves. "Most deaths happen when the rain stops and people go out believing that all is well," he said. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has ordered six military helicopters and 350 soldiers to the area to help in relief operations. Civil Defense officials warned of possible new landslides, and forecast rain through Wednesday. More than 160,000 people were without electricity and fresh water supplies were cut to several towns. Torrential rain hitting the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina actually intensified in recent days, officials said, with a month's amount of precipitation dumped in just five hours on Sunday. "The torrential downpour was sudden," said Blumenau resident James Locatelli, 60, contacted via telephone. "Nobody had time to prepare." Flood victims looted supermarkets and pharmacies in the port city of Itajai, said Samuel Martins with the local firefighters. The Itajari valley was one of the most heavily affected part of the state. The most heavily affected towns are Ilhota (population 22,000, 18 dead) and the tourist town of Blumenau (population 297,000, 20 dead) where many German immigrants settled. It is home to an annual Oktoberfest that draws up to one million people. The level of the Itajai-Acu river that runs through Ilhota swelled 11.5 meters (38 feet) above normal, officials said. Boats were the only means of transport in many areas, and witnesses spoke of the bodies of dozens of drowned cows littering the road near Blumenau. Heavy flooding swept away all bridges around Blumenau, said Mayor Joao Paulo Kleinübing. "It will take a year and a half or perhaps two to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure," Kleinübing said.
Heavy rain also damaged one of the lines of the Brazil-Bolivia natural gas line, leaving most of Santa Catarina and the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Sul without gas. "We heard people crying for help. We also heard explosions. With the ground saturated, several gas pipelines exploded," one Santa Catarina resident forced to leave her home, Beatriz Heusi, 30, told AFP by telephone. Other southern Brazilian states, principally Rio Grande do Sul and Espirito Santo were affected to a lesser extent by flooding and mudslides.
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