projects supported by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) focused on preparedness help mitigate the effects already taking place – often small projects with huge impact Our colleague Ruth Silva shares the story of a Brazilian city’s preparedness for future climate-related events In 2011, the floods and landslides in Teresópolis, Brazil left hundreds missing and caused thousands of Euros worth in damage The difference between one event and the other is not due to lesser severity of the floods but to the preparedness of the community facing them The heavy floods three years ago in Teresopólis and other municipalities in the mountainous region of the state of Rio de Janeiro swept away everything in their path With  more than 900 killed throughout the state it was considered the worst disaster in recent years in South America Local authorities had physical and material resources to meet the most pressing needs derived from this type of emergency passed by the national legislation through the figure of the Cores of Community Civil Defense (NUDECs) “The Civil Defense of the municipality had been very well trained in first-aid techniques but never before had worked with the community The NUDECs were not implemented for lack of knowledge” who during the last five years has coordinated the Disaster Preparedness Programme Action Plans of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) in South America ECHO and the non-governmental organisation (NGO) CARE launched a disaster preparedness project (DIPECHO) whose fundamental pillar was focused on the participation of the community and the local authorities and institutions the first three Cores of Community Civil Defense were born The results of this community approach were highly positive The rains in 2013 were the scenario for the community trained in the framework of the DIPECHO project The NUDECs activated the alert systems and search and rescue of victims they put clean-up techniques into practice offered first aid to the victims before the arrival of the Civil Defense were prepared to channel the humanitarian aid the state had provided Its coordinated and timely action reduced the impact of the disaster Teresopolis was the only municipality in the entire area affected by the rains that recorded no deaths The preparation and performance during the emergency were worth the city’s Gold Medal award for the NUDEC in the Rosario neighbourhood the group with whom the DIPECHO project worked In addition to preparing a community to act in times of a disaster, the project promoted the community level and the Cores of Civil Defense that should exist by law, giving them visibility and encouraging a change in the way in which the authorities addressed disaster risk reduction (DRR) The experience was soon replicated in 25 other districts of the municipality Its success is consolidated by the Civil Defense of Rio de Janeiro adopting the community-based approach used by CARE in neighbourhoods and schools and integrating the manual of the NUDEC which had been created in the framework of the DIPECHO project into the institution’s curriculum What happened in Teresópolis is a good example of what De Vicente calls “humanitarian acupuncture” in which thin needles are inserted into specific strategic body points to relieve a wide range of problems intervenes only in specific areas which are highly exposed and vulnerable to disasters Small scale and low cost operations that achieve a high humanitarian impact translates into saving lives and this can be replicated in wider areas by the concerned authorities The above article was written by ECHO and originally appeared here Richard Davies is the founder of floodlist.com and reports on flooding news Cookies | Privacy | Contacts © Copyright 2025 FloodList Building on the strength of our teams and of our holistic ecosystem of leading brands personalized services & expert solutions we break new ground to reimagine hospitality and inspire new ways to experience the world Another Record Year: Full-Year 2024 Results in Key Figures The hotel will be Accor's 39th in the state of Rio de Janeiro and is scheduled to open in 2025 October 2023 – The municipality of Teresópolis in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro with the signing of the contract for ibis Styles Teresópolis offering modern and comfortable accommodation for guests the hotel will have a wide range of amenities offering panoramic views of the region's mountains ibis Styles Teresópolis will also be an attractive option for those looking for a space to hold meetings the hotel will have WOJO - a coworking service offered in the common areas of Accor hotels such as the lobby the development is scheduled to open in early 2025 Chief Development Officer of Accor Americas in the Premium "We are very pleased with this advance in Accor's expansion in Rio de Janeiro and the milestone of the 39th hotel in the state Our goal is to bring our chain's characteristic quality standards to Teresópolis offering guests the hospitality that Accor is known for," he says The hotel's investor is Gênesis Empreendimentos a construction and development company from Teresópolis with a 12-year history and more than 20 successful projects delivered in the mountainous region commented on the joy of bringing the enterprise to the municipality "We are happy to offer the city Teresópolis' first international flagship hotel and also with the whole project to revitalize a building that is so important to everyone in the region giving it a new socio-economic meaning and revitalizing the area The city and tourists of Teresópolis deserve this gift" The development will generate 30 direct jobs in the city who will soon be able to count on a comfortable accommodation option at ibis Styles Teresópolis The operation and management of Ibis Styles Teresópolis will be the responsibility of Haz Hotelaria a Rio de Janeiro company specializing in property management and hotel operations with over 15 years' experience and operations in leisure hotels and high standard inns in 4 Brazilian states Creative design and a fun atmosphere are what travelers find when they stay at ibis Styles With a unique design concept built around a precise theme and a confident The friendly staff are happy to surprise guests with little treats to make each stay personal and special solo travelers and business guests are warmly welcomed in more than 560 uniquely designed ibis Styles hotels in over 45 countries a world-leading hotel group consisting of more than 5,300 properties and 10,000 food and beverage outlets in 110 countries ibis.com | all.accor.com | group.accor.com Gênesis Empreendimentos is a company 100% from Teresópolis working in the development and construction of projects in the economic and medium-high standard segments it has delivered more than 1,400 homes and is currently building approximately 1,000 new apartments in Teresópolis and Petrópolis accor@mslgroup.com © 2025 Accor, powered by epresspack. Text description provided by the architects. The House in the Trees is located in Teresópolis, 100 km from Rio de Janeiro. The narrow plot has a 10-meter elevation difference, with access from the highest point. To the right of the entrance, there is a natural reserve with trees reaching up to 30 meters in height. In front, the view extends to the mountain range of the region. To keep the ground free, allowing sunlight and minimizing the construction of stairs, earth movement, and contact with humidity, the house was set 1 meter below the access level, in a long volume elevated 7 meters from the ground, similar to a pier. ElevationInside the house, a gallery connects the spaces, arranged transversely to it. The access volume is 1.50 m wide and is marked by the rhythm of the wooden roof structure, composed of 19 modules of 80 cm each. The glass facade opens like a balcony, allowing uses that go beyond simple circulation. divided into two slopes with a 30 cm height difference between the circulation area and the internal spaces The width of the rooms follows the same modulation as the gallery it is possible to see how the limits of the house dissolve through the reflection of the green and the sky on the galvanized steel eaves You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Brazil (AP) - Neymar was back in training on Tuesday to give Brazil a big boost ahead of the World Cup Neymar has been sidelined since February after having surgery on his right foot but spent an hour training on the main pitch at Brazil's Granja Comary training ground in Teresopolis The Paris Saint-Germain striker was joined by Manchester City duo Gabriel Jesus and Danilo as he took part in drills using his recovering foot to dribble cones and shoot from long and close range Neymar was cleared to take part in training after undergoing a medical exams earlier Tuesday You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Central to Dunga's criticism, it seems, is his desire to make sure Neymar understands he is part of a team and that the team does not revolve around him. I wouldn’t have allowed these players to die their hair while they were with the national team but they should be thinking about the World Cup Neymar appears with a cap or without a cap We should be talking about what happens on the field I didn’t like that the team came out with shirts in memory of Neymar [prior to the Germany game after Neymar was injured against Colombia] The message conveyed was 'we lost a warrior' We can’t harm the soldier who takes their place The message of team and performance on the pitch may be well-intentioned but the execution leaves a little to be desired Neymar performed to a high level during the 2014 World Cup despite huge expectations and pressure at which point his team subsequently fell away sharply [Football Espana] In a forthcoming paper entitled “Mulheres em reconstruçāo nas situaçōes pós-desastre: relato sobre as chuvas de 2011 em Teresópolis” (Women Reconstructing in Post-Disaster Situations: The 2011 Rains in Teresópolis, Brazil) Marta de Araujo Pinheiro a visiting fellow at CERI from UFRJ (Brazil) is interested in the situation of women in the face of natural disasters and their capacity for resilience and reconstruction based on the case of the city of Teresópolis where the terrible landslides of 2011 caused a great deal of damage The study of natural disasters by the social sciences dates from the middle of the twentieth century; can it be said that they give sufficient consideration to women in the face of these phenomena Natural disasters are traditionally considered a gender-neutral phenomenon research has shown that gender inequalities can increase women’s vulnerability to natural disasters Several contributions have emerged to address the gender perspective in catastrophic situations (Fothergill These contributions highlight situations of high vulnerability of women and imply that they should be taken into consideration in policies and practices aimed at reducing disaster risk What these studies have in common is that they show that the different vulnerabilities to these phenomena are socially constructed and linked to the social roles that men and women have historically assumed Because they often take on the role of head of the household women find it more difficult to resume daily life in the face of extreme events and post-disaster reconstruction processes further deepening the social inequality they already suffer from focused on female knowledge and participation in local decision-making processes concerning adaptation to climate change or the reduction of people’s vulnerability in several countries and despite the social transformations that have taken place in the last century from a gender perspective (more participation of women in the labour market better dissemination and access to information Inequalities in general and gender inequalities in particular are still very pronounced Women earn less and have increasingly precarious jobs they are a fundamental and yet invisible presence in household management They increasingly support their families by themselves About 40% of families have a woman “at their head” (IBGE who assumes a double responsibility: that of a head of household who also takes care of the emotional and daily needs of the family nucleus sociologists Siena and Valêncio (2009) have showed through their research that once this responsibility has been assimilated women become the family member most sensitive to material and symbolic losses related to housing The occupation of different spaces in urban and rural areas in Brazil results from a social process marked by unequal distribution: the low-income population is more exposed to the dangers of landslides and floods live in the most environmentally fragile areas and are therefore the hardest hit it is these groups that are most affected by environmental hazards My research aims to study the place of women in natural disasters a city hit by the heavy rains of 2011 and its socio-environmental reconstruction process Teresópolis is located in the mountainous region of the state of Rio de Janeiro one of the biggest disasters caused by meteorological phenomena occurred in this area resulting in a colossal landslide classified by the UN as the eighth largest in the last hundred years women were not among my first research interests But while many technical reports presented the issue of the 2011 disaster by focusing on the number of victims during my field visits my interlocutors told me about their experiences the difficulties encountered in rebuilding their lives the ones who allowed me to carry out an essential part of my research: women acting as mediators in the most affected working-class neighbourhoods acting as leaders or active participants in victims’ associations or in the housing unit built to receive those who had lost their homes These were women who were able to organise agricultural cooperatives by introducing new pesticide-free treatments on their small plots of land But there were also other “less active” women who were still trying to overcome their pain the many challenges that followed the disaster and the difficulties of caring for children and their own parents all of whom were under their responsibility I dedicated part of my research to this notable presence of women in the reconstruction processes in the region I can say that it was the field itself that asked me new questions and that I have followed these questions Considering the two prevailing themes—women as vulnerable or women as resilient in the face of environmental disasters—I note that disasters reveal both the vulnerability of and interdependence between the victims and women are often essential to the overcoming of such situations I believe that it must be considered in its particular context because the specificity of women’s vulnerability and/or capacity/resilience may differ Perhaps it is through more case studies that we will be able to find out how and in what contexts women are able to cope with inequality in the face of environmental hazards Can you quickly present this ideology and tell us what this perspective brings to the study of the relationship that exists between women (without essentialising them) and natural disasters Ecofeminism is a contested term that underpins a diversity of ideas and actions This conflict of approaches includes criticism of the patriarchal structure in Western modernity the way in which domination over women coincides with that of nature or the more social ecofeminism established in the South—that of women in the poorest countries who struggle for subsistence without a critical hiatus between the spiritual and the material Shiva (1988) and Mies & Shiva (1993/2014) argue that caring for the common would require attention and a valuing look at all practices that support life at the local level especially those of women and traditional groups living in the southern hemisphere This tradition is being renewed through thinking and practice committed to social transformation and care ethics in order to reflect on the sustainability of societies (Herrero Fundamental in this respect is the work of Silvia Federici (2012) which should also be added to this discussion Her investigations of the current capitalist appropriation of so-called market externalities range from women’s domestic work to broader issues of ecological reproduction Brazilian scholar Maria Inácia d'Ávila (1993) reflected on the relationship between nature and gender indicating that “development hides the issue of power” As a result of her fieldwork in the Pantanal region—in the prairie and savannah biome—in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso she argued that it should be important that power in its political-social form be shared by female and male beings in an “ecological sensitivity” that transcends gender divisions Recalling in fact the African cosmogony in which “plants animals and men are based on the same principle” the author draws attention to the poetic and invented aspect of this construction and thus moves away from all essentialism but of a possible point of convergence between feminist and ecological movements in the poetic sense of “transforming social relations and sexually designated roles” Such a reference would thus make it possible to consider that the heterogeneous (and contested) perspectives developed by ecofeminists cannot be reduced to a monolithic paradigm that opposes the nurturing qualities of women to male technoscience In this sense and in a more current context Greta Gaard (2011) provides a stimulating account of contributions that focus on perceptions of the links between racism proposing to reclaim ecofeminism as fundamental to encompass socio-natural components Philosophers Isabelle Stengers (2008) and Émile Hache (2016) also contribute to this debate on “ecofeminism revisited” by pointing out that it is not only a question of reconciling human beings and the earth after centuries of exploitation Nor does a new relationship and composition between them imply reciprocity and partnership the discussion on Southern ecofeminism and “ecofeminism revisited” has allowed me to broaden the understanding that women in the Brazilian context should not be seen only as helpless victims Because they mobilise to help their communities and despite all the challenges You have worked on the local situation of women of the city of Teresópolis using the biographic method of “life stories” can we talk of intersectionality for women who suffered the devastating rains of 2011 in Brazil The concept of gender—in its different perspectives—is historically constructed in such a way as to deny the essence of women and to allow political practice to acknowledge differences the concept of intersectionality contributes to broaden the approach by integrating the interplay of power relations between gender and colonisation in the production and reproduction of inequalities This allows for new angles of vision to observe a social phenomenon we can link the concept of intersectionality to the concepts of “environmental injustice” (Acselrad The terms refer to the greater vulnerability of certain social groups to environmental destruction and the populations most affected by landslides are poor and black this conceptualisation is fundamental to demystify the occurrence of environmental disasters it is important to pay attention to the fact that causes are not necessarily universal; women’s tactical and strategic choices are made in different contexts I have tried to use more subtle methodological resources that could give voice to these different strategies This is a long-term project because it is important to identify the reconstruction and recomposition processes of this population and collated in order to trace the trajectories following the event the life story method proved to be a revealing one for my research It has emerged as a relevant tool for understanding how subjects represent events Life stories can bring a fundamental asset to research because it gives meaning to the notion of a process of formation of the individual act in which personal conduct is continually reformulated it is unique and cannot be considered representative of an entire community listening to life stories allows the researcher to encounter surprise to hear what others are telling him or her without it being immediately reduced to what is already considered known and even allows them to address what was not included in the original research questions This listening allows the stories heard to resonate and produce effects on the researcher and the research itself You mention the “banality of these exceptional situations” A large-scale natural disaster such as the 2011 rains causing death and homelessness interrupts the rhythm of daily life An emergency situation involves the entire local population governmental and non-governmental institutions It is necessary to try to identify the causes The event in Teresópolis highlighted the need for Brazil to better prepare for emergencies and public calamity the Federal Government launched the National Risk Management and Natural Disaster Response Plan 2012-2014 (Brazil) with investments in four areas: (i) response (relief and reconstruction); (ii) monitoring and warning; (iii) mapping of risk areas; and (iv) prevention This plan laid the foundations for the National Public Policy for Natural Disaster Response What I call “the banality of the exception” has two meanings floods and landslides in the case of Brazil—the state of Rio de Janeiro and the mountainous region in particular—are events that are repeated every summer when storms are stronger and homelessness are already part of the seasonal “routine” we could speak of an initial feeling of the “banality of exceptional situations” a storm in the mountainous region of the state of Rio de Janeiro had already caused the death of 200 people the death toll reached nearly 1,000 people uncontrolled occupation of land and insecure housing has increased in the mountainous region but also throughout the state such as the buildings erected by the militias in protected environmental areas west of the city of Rio de Janeiro the city of Rio de Janeiro was hit by disasters as a result of heavy summer rains; these disasters were considered new and the new victims were more lamented. A second sense of banality refers to daily activities and questions the actions of the different actors present in post-disaster situations especially women—who take care of their children and finally maintain a whole routine that is considerably interrupted and has to be resumed differently although in the long term the “initial conditions” rarely change The difficulty of adapting to this new way of life in a new home and on a new urban territory involves social and material aspects (financial difficulties The contribution of research on socio-environmental reconstruction results from long-term studies: it is based not only on the occurrence of disasters during which it is possible to understand the transformations taking place in the daily lives of the individuals and groups affected the different interpretations of the people involved and the actions and policies put in place to overcome a disaster and rebuild a life if women are more vulnerable to natural disasters—a vulnerability that results from structures more than from women themselves—what type of resilience What I was able to gather from the life stories and from meeting the women from Teresópolis is that reconstruction is most often a question of encounters and connections we can say that they know how to seek and find support for their collective actions by learning how to use available resources While women are most affected by natural disasters it can be seen as the result of inequalities produced by the social gender roles and linked to discrimination and poverty Although the dimensions explored in my research are not sufficient to universalise I believe that they can be effective observation points All of these encounters and connections that women are able to activate broaden our understanding and allow us to see them no longer merely as helpless victims but as full-fledged agents of transformation who rally to help their communities and families the idea that communities are systematically resilient in themselves is being challenged There may indeed be a violation of the limits of a form of elasticity that does not necessarily call adaptability into question but which generates decision-making that needs to be rebuilt on other bases and that this cannot be achieved without the support of various organisations This reality reinforced the perception that all of these actors were essential in reconfiguring daily life after the disaster English version by Miriam Perier and Caitlin Gordon Walker (2004) A justiça ambiental e a dinâmica das lutas socioambientais no Brasil - uma introdução Rio de Janeiro: Relume-Dumará/Fundação Ford in Métodos de pesquisa em ciências sociais BRADSHAW, S. (2004), Socioeconomic impacts of natural disasters: A gender analysis, Santiago de Chile: CEPAL, Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division, http://www.cepal.org/publicaciones/ UnidadMujer Enfrentando o racismo ambiental no século XXI feminismo e poder: ainda algumas reflexões ‘Through women’s eyes: a gendered research agenda for disaster social science’ (1998) ‘Making women visible in disasters: problematising the private domain’ in International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters (2011) "Ecofeminism Revisited: Rejecting Essentialism and Re-Placing Species in a Material Feminist Environmentalism,” in Feminist Formations O clamor por justiça ambiental e contra o racismo ambiental Revista de Gestão Integrada em Saúde do Trabalho e do Meio Ambiente Miradas ecofeministas para transitar a un mundo justo y sostenible Síntese de indicadores sociais : uma análise das condições de vida da população brasileira: Indicadores Sociais , Rio de Janeiro: IBGE. Available at https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv95011.pdf Gênero e desastres: uma perspectiva brasileira sobre o tema Norma et AL (orgs) Sociologia dos desastres – construção “Experimenting with refrains: subjectivity and the challenge of escaping modern dualism” Brazil (AP) - Brazil starting striker Hulk left the team's training session with an apparent muscle injury in his left leg on Sunday two days before his side faces Mexico at the World Cup Hulk practiced for less than 15 minutes when he felt something in his leg and left the field but then sat down on a bench and lowered his head in apparent dismay he went to the locker room accompanied by one of the team's doctors The Brazilian federation was yet to comment on the injury which apparently happened after he scored a goal during the session The injury came in one of the team's final practices before Tuesday's match against the Mexicans in Group A Brazil travels to the northeastern city of Fortaleza on Sunday afternoon STRAUS: Three Thoughts on Brazil's 3-1 win over Croatia put his hand on his left leg when doctors arrived to treat him on the bench He had already felt discomfort in the leg during the opener against Croatia 21-year-old Shakhtar Donetsk striker Bernard would be his likely substitute in Brazil's attack for the match against Mexico Brazil had been injury free since it started its World Cup preparations in late May but it was a tense training session in Teresopolis Bernard stayed on the ground for a few moments after a foul by David Luiz and the defender was later hurt in a challenge by midfielder Luiz Gustavo Both players were down briefly but recovered Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari ended the training session after the contact between Luiz and Gustavo SI STAFF The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER Brazil's player Neymar attends a training session of the national football team ahead of FIFA's 2018 World Cup at Granja Comary training centre in Teresopolis Brazil's player Gabriel Jesus (L) and Neymar attend a training session of the national football team ahead of FIFA's 2018 World Cup Brazil's player Neymar (L) and Marquinhos (R) vie for the ball during a training session of the national football team ahead of FIFA's 2018 World Cup Football Soccer - World Cup 2018 - Brazil national soccer team training - Granja Comary 2018 - Neymar in action during a training session Brazil's players Neymar (R) and Filipe Luis attend a training session of the national football team ahead of FIFA's 2018 World Cup Football Soccer - Brazil national soccer team training - World Cup 2018 - Granja Comary Brazilian Soccer Confederation training center 2018 - Neymar of Brazil kicks the ball during a training session 2018 - Neymar of Brazil reacts during a training session JUVENTUS - ATLÉTICO DE MADRID World of football Floodlights had been erected to allow for burials through the night A yellow excavator and a team of exhausted volunteers had dug more than 160 shallow graves for victims of what is being called one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history "Yesterday we buried 92," said 22-year-old Paulo Vitor Lopes now working as a gravedigger while using an A4 sheet of paper to record the details all of those buried "We don't know how many will come today." With six of the region's nine cemeteries reportedly destroyed or cut off by Wednesday's disaster "Ninety-nine percent of the victims are coming here," said Luiz Antônio da Costa Clutching three mobile phones that rang constantly he pointed up at the mass grave where the victims would be laid to rest who is working at the town's morgue helping families identify the dead said there were 300 to 400 bodies inside the morgue an abandoned evangelical church which now stinks of decomposing flesh "The bodies are so swollen that people are confusing their relatives Rio state's civil defence department said that 231 people were killed in Teresópolis and 247 in Nova Friburgo a 45-mile drive to the west of Teresopolis that draws hikers and campers to mountain trails waterfalls and dramatic views of lush green slopes Another 43 died in neighboring Petropolis and 16 in the town of Sumidouro The Civil Defense agency said about 14,000 people had been driven from their homes said it was impossible to know how many people had been killed "There are still hundreds and hundreds of tonnes of earth debris and stones on top of people's houses," he said About 25 gravediggers worked from 7am until 1.30am burying bodies in shallow red-earth graves dotted with damp wood crosses Just after 10.20am the second coffin of the day was hauled from the rear of an estate car by four men in yellow raincoats and white facemasks Inside was the body of Marcela Santos Yamamoto a 29-year-old woman who died saving her five-year-old son "It all fell down," said her uncle Elinito Santos as the coffin was carried through the muddy cemetery to grave 145 and lowered into the ground with two pieces of rope Female relatives wailed in sorrow: "God be with you The gravediggers filled the 60cm (2ft) hole with mud "She saved her boy and her grandmother At the entrance to the graveyard stood 46-year-old Mara Lilian Brandão who said she shared her first name with her sisters "There are four of us," she said "There were four of us." She was there to bury her youngest sister said she expected the toll in Campo Grande to rise dramatically as rescue workers found more corpses Among the bodies already found were those of Mara Luciana's children "They are all gone," said Mara Lilian In chapel B was a wake for Rayane da Silva Pereira But apart from her coffin the chapel was empty "Her whole family died," said Vera Lucia who was in chapel A preparing to bury her mother A piece of paper had been taped to Rayane's coffin bearing her name and grave number verse 25: "I am the resurrection and the life sealed the coffin with four metal screws and readied it for burial Brazil's footballer Neymar (2-R) greets fans upon arriving in a helicopter at the Granja Comary sports complex in Teresopolis sudden and heavy floods and mudslides have swept away homes and left survivors stranded this week.  At least 355 people are counted dead so far the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro The rains have also paralyzed the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil's financial capital, where 21 people died in flash floods and mudslides since Sunday, according to the AP A rescue worker walks among debris after landslides at Caleme neighborhood in Teresopolis The mudslides killed at least 350 people and dozens more are missing The mayor of Teresopolis said in a statement Wednesday that more than 1,000 have been left homeless People walk among debris after landslides at Caleme neighborhood in Teresopolis Nearly all the homes in their Caleme neighborhood were swept to the bottom of a hill People stand by the bodies of mudslide victims after heavy rain in the neighborhood of Caleme in Teresopolis Vehicles sit a flooded avenue after heavy rains in Sao Paulo This week's rains immobilized Brazil's biggest city walk on a flooded street at Vila Itaim neighborhood in Sao Paulo Such disasters hit Brazil annually in its rainy summer season and unduly punish the poor poses for pictures at the entrance of her flooded house at Vila Itaim neighborhood in Sao Paulo Sao Paulo state civil defense officials say 11 people died when their houses collapsed because of mudslides Residents stand at the entrance of a house on a flooded street at Vila Itaim neighborhood in Sao Paulo The disaster poses a significant challenge to Latin America's largest country set to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics In this frame grab from video is seen an aerial view of a mudslide in Teresopolis The death toll is expected to rise as firefighters reach remote valleys and steep mountainsides where neighborhoods were destroyed by mudslides and flooding UPDATE:  Brazil's Folha.com now cites a death toll number at approximately 416, with 169 dead in Peresópolis, 187 in Nova Friburgo, 39 in Petrópolis, 17 in Sumidouro, and 4 in São José do Vale do Rio Preto.   Walls of earth and water swept away homes in the mountains north of Rio de Janeiro, wiping out families and leaving survivors scrambling Thursday to reach still-trapped neighbors. At least 355 people died in three Rio state towns after slides hit at about 3 a.m. Wednesday, and 50 were still missing, officials said. Another 34 people had already died in floods and slides since Christmas in southeastern Brazil. "We were like zombies, covered in mud, in the dark, digging and digging" after the slides hit at about 3 a.m. Wednesday, 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 onto their neighborhood. The power was out, but by lightning flashes they could see a torrent of mud and water rushing just a few feet (meters) from their home -- and the remnants of their neighbors' houses that were swept far down a hill. "I don't even have the words to describe what I've seen," said Ramos, during a 5-mile (8-kilometer) 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." Carvalho and Ramos said they ran out of their home moments after the mudslide and joined neighbors 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 neighbor's 2-month-old baby was washed away in his crib and has yet to be found. Nearly all the homes in their Caleme neighborhood were swept to the bottom of a hill, seemingly turned inside out. Tangles of plumbing were wrapped in trees, children's' clothing littered the earth, massive trees were tossed about like toothpicks. A river of water and mud flowed through the streets as a light rain continued to fall Thursday. Only a few rescuers had managed to hike to Caleme by Thursday and they only had shovels and machetes -- not the heavier equipment that may be needed to hunt for survivors. Residents said they had no food, water or medication, and many made the long walk for help to the center of Teresopolis, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Rio. Such disasters hit Brazil annually in its rainy summer season and unduly punish the poor, who often live in rickety shacks perched perilously on steep hillsides with little or no foundations. Rio state's Civil Defense department reported on its website that 159 people were killed in Teresopolis, 160 in nearby Nova Friburgo and 4 in neighboring Petropolis. Morgues in the cities were full and bodies covered in blankets were laid out in streets. Officials said the area hit by slides had seen 10 inches (26 centimeters) of rain in less than 24 hours. More rain, possibly heavy at times, is forecast through the weekend. Survivors across the region were seen wading through waist-high water, carrying what belongings they could, trying to reach higher ground. Many tried desperately to find relatives, though phone service was 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 in a telephone interview. Carvalho Silva took refuge in a neighbor's house on high ground with her husband and daughter, and watched the torrential rain carry away cars, tree branches 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 Thursday. The nation's Health Ministry said it was sending 7 tons of medications to the area, enough to treat 45,000 people for a month, it said in a statement. The mayor of Teresopolis, Jorge Mario Sedlacek, decreed a state of emergency, calling the calamity "the worst to hit the town." About 800 search-and-rescue workers from the state's civil defense department and firefighters were digging for survivors, but hopes were dimming. Deadly flooding and slides hit neighboring states in recent days as well. Heavy rainfall caused havoc in Minas Gerais state north of Rio, where 16 people died in the past month and dozens of communities are in a state of emergency. In Sao Paulo, flooding paralyzed main thoroughfares in the capital city since Sunday and 21 people died in collapsed homes, mudslides and flooding throughout the state. Associated Press writer Bradley Brooks in Sao Paulo contributed to this report. Copyright © 2025 Salon.com, LLC. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. SALON ® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. Associated Press articles: Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem Brazil talisman Neymar feared he was paralysed shortly after the knee in the back that ended his World Cup Neymar was ruled out of the tournament last Friday when he was hit in the lower back during an aerial challenge with Colombia defender Juan Zuniga Scans revealed Neymar had fractured a vertebra following the collision but the player initially believed the injury was much more serious when he lay prostrate on the pitch “Marcelo ran up to Neymar (directly after the challenge) and asked him how he was feeling and he told him: ‘I can’t feel my legs’,” the Brazil coach was quoted as saying by Marca he will not suffer any such long-term effects “He does not have any neurological injury that would compromise his life as an athlete or a human being,” Brazil’s team doctor Jose Luiz Runco said Neymar thanked his team-mates for their support in an emotional video recorded at the team’s training ground in Teresopolis on Saturday He was then flown to his home city of Guaruja Scolari has asked the 22-year-old to make the short flight to Belo Horizonte to cheer Brazil on during tomorrow’s semi-final against Germany though on the bench or in the stands,” the former Chelsea manager said It all will depend on how he is in the upcoming days The Brazil squad will fly to Belo Horizonte today for the final stage of their semi-final preparation “It’s equivalent to a catastrophe,” the Brazil coach said of losing his star man He is a player that would make the difference in any team We have lost the one player we did not want to lose The Brazilian federation (CBF) confirmed yesterday that team psychologist Regina Brandao would visit Teresopolis Scolari found the ordeal of seeing his best player injured hard to take “The image of Neymar being carried off a stretcher towards the plane Scolari has several options to replace Neymar Paulinho or Fernandinho could be asked to play a more advanced role now that regular midfielder Luis Gustavo is back from suspension But the two biggest contenders to fill Neymar’s position are Chelsea forward Willian or Shakhtar Donetsk’s Bernard Neither player has started a match for Brazil during the World Cup but Willian has come off the bench in all but one of the team’s matches has made two substitute appearances during the tournament please register for free or log in to your account.