FLOODING MAY END IN BRAZIL 
in Brazil floods caused 29 deaths and affecting 700,000 people
In some cities the water level has reached 12 meters
ARIAS JUAN 05/06/2009 Rio de Janeiro
Months of heavy rain have left half of Brazil under water. The floods have claimed at least 29 lives and affected some 700,000 persons in the northeast of Brazil. States most affected are Maranhão, Piauí, Pará, Ceará and Bahia and Amazonia.
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in other languages \u200b\u200b precisely in that State, the Black River is only 80 centimeters to reach its highest level ever . Flood overflow Manaus, a city with 1.8 million inhabitants. In the Amazon, other rivers continue to rise and nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated.
In Maranhão, the most affected region, there have been 10 deaths and 43 municipalities are already in a state of emergency. In the state of Ceará have killed seven people have been evicted another 28,000.
rains forced to stop for a railroad that transports iron ore from the Carajas mine in the State of Pará.
In the city of Teresina, State of Piauí, the water level has reached 12 meters. To move, people "navigate" through the streets of the city aboard. In this region, at least 10,000 families homeless.
In Barreinrinha, a town of 27,000 inhabitants in the state of Amazonia, the authorities have asked that the entire city is evacuated, as it is submerged under water by 90%. Commerce is paralyzed and schools shut. There is also fear you start drinking water scarce. In Parintins, a town with 100,000 inhabitants, the Amazon has invaded its three main avenues and affected 1,700 families.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has moved to the areas most affected. Lula has called for close cooperation between the authorities of the States hardest hit by the floods to leave behind their political struggles and care for victims. Asked the mayor a report "accurate" about the impact of the rains in the affected States, all among the poorest in the country.
Forecasters do not provide a good outcome. The storm has caused the worst flooding in 20 years and is expected to rain continue for two weeks.
And while water is abundant in some areas, in others scarce. The Government has declared a state of drought emergency in 150 municipalities of the Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, reports France Presse. The region has had the driest April in 80 years. "Look at how Brazil is complicated: next week I will visit the drought in southern states. That means we have to take more seriously the climate issue," said Lula during his visit to Teresina, in the northern country.
SOURCE: El Pais
