DEATH TOLL OF 500 FEARED IN RIO

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30959, 15 January 1966, Page 13

DEATH TOLL OF 500 FEARED IN RIO

(N.Z.P.A. Reuter—Copyright) RIO DE JANEIRO, January 14. Authorities in Rio today faced a steadily mounting toll of death and destruction as tropical storms kept lashing the floodstricken city.

As the official total of bodies in the central mortuary reached 196, authorities feared as many as 500 may have died since the interminable deluge struck on Monday night. Weathermen forecast still more rain today.

Yesterday, as the downpour brought renewed landslides to the hillside shanty towns of the city, rescuers told new stories of horror. In one incident, seven children were buried alive as their flimsy dwelling fell about them.

No-one knows exactly how many people have died, either drowned in the raging floodwaters or crushed in the collapse of their homes. Worst hit by the floods have been Rio itself, the neighbouring city of Niteroi across Guanabara bay, and the mountain resorts of Petropolis and Teresopolis. Adding to the toll in Rio came reports of some 90 deaths in Neteroi and another 80 in Petropolis. Authorities were gradually

restoring electricity to most of Rio. but telephone com-

munication remained chaotic or non-existent. Gunagara State officials yesterday distributed over 100.000 doses of anti-typhoid vaccine, but the State Health Secretary, Dr. Barata Ribeiro, de-

nied that Rio was menaced by a typhoid epidemic. He said the mass-vaccination campaign and appeals to boil drinking water were precautionary moves. Thousands made homeless by the floods sheltered in schools, a shopping centre and the Maracana soccer stadium, as television stations broadcast non-stop appeals for clothing, bedding and food. Rescue officials in Rio estimated that some 1770 homes had been destroyed so far. and the number of injured treated exceeded 1700.