More than 500 dead in Brazil's worst flood disaster

TERESOPOLIS, Brazil (AFP) – Brazil is suffering its worst-ever natural disaster after mudslides near Rio de Janeiro this week killed more than 500 people, media compiling the deaths said Friday. Municipal officials in the Serrana region just north of Rio said at least 506 people were killed, surpassing the 437 toll from a 1967 mudslide that had been previously considered Brazil's biggest disaster. More bodies were expected to turn up as rescuers finally reached villages cut off by destroyed roads and bridges.

The G1 news outlet called it "the biggest climatic tragedy in the history of the country." In frantic efforts to locate survivors and bodies, rescuers braved the risk of further mudslides, as rain continued to fall on the waterlogged region, making it even more unstable.