Mudslides kill hundreds as rains hit mountain villages

Walls of earth and water swept away homes in the mountains north of Rio de Janeiro, wiping out families and leaving survivors scrambling yesterday to reach still-trapped neighbours.

• People walk through the wrecked streets of a low-income neighbourhood after heavy rains caused mudslides in Teresopolis. Picture: AFP/Getty

At least 350 people died in three towns after the slides hit at about 3am local time on Wednesday, and 50 or more were still missing, said officials .

"It's like an earthquake struck some areas," said Jorge Mario, the mayor of the Teresopolis municipal area.

"We were like zombies, covered in mud, in the dark, digging and digging after the slides hit", said Geisa Carvalho, 19.

A tremendous rumble awoke Geisa and her mother Vania Ramos as tons of earth slid down a sheer granite rock face on to their neighbourhood. The power was out, but by lightning flashes they could see a torrent of mud and water rushing just a few feet from their home - and the remnants of their neighbours' houses that were swept far down a hill. "I don't even have the words to describe what I've seen," said Ms Ramos, during a five-mile hike to the main part of her town in search of food and water. "A lot of our friends are dead or missing. There are people we may never find."

Ms Carvalho and Ms Ramos said they ran out of their home moments after the mudslide and joined neighbours in digging for survivors with bare hands and sticks. They quickly located a family of four who had died under the rubble of their home and said another neighbour's two-month-old baby was washed away in his crib.

Nearly all the homes in their Caleme neighbourhood were swept to the bottom of a hill. Tangles of plumbing were wrapped in trees, children's clothing littered the earth and massive trees were tossed about like toothpicks. A river of water and mud flowed through the streets. Television images showed one woman holding a dog in the ruins of her house as powerful floodwaters tore at the remaining walls. She grabbed a rope thrown by residents from a nearby rooftop and was eventually pulled to safety, after dropping the dog into the current.

Only a few rescuers had managed to hike to Caleme by yesterday and they only had shovels and machetes - not the heavier equipment that may be needed.

Such disasters hit Brazil annually in its rainy summer season and unduly punish the poor, who often live in shacks perched perilously on steep hillsides.

Officials said the area hit by slides had seen 10in of rain in less than 24 hours. More rain is forecast through the weekend.

Survivors across the region were seen wading through waist-high water, carrying what belongings they could.

Many tried desperately to find relatives, though phone services were out in the region and many people were still missing hours after the rain stopped.

"There are so many disappeared - and so many that will probably never be found," said Angela Marina de Carvalho Silva, a resident of Teresopolis who feared she may have lost 15 relatives, including five nieces and nephews. "There was nothing we could do. It was hell," she said.

Mrs Carvalho Silva took refuge in a neighbour's house on high ground with her husband and daughter, and watched the torrential rain carry away cars, trees and animals and rip apart the homes of friends and family.

"It's over. There's nothing. The water came down and swept everything away," said her husband, Sidney Silva.

President Dilma Rousseff flew by helicopter over the region. The health ministry said it was sending seven tons of medications, enough to treat 45,000 people for a month.