In late January, floods caused major pain and suffering for Brazil. The worst-affected towns included Teresopolis and Nova Friburgo where the number of people missing reached at least 300. Many of those missing were thought to be buried under the mud of landslides and debris from the massive amount of water. 741 people were confirmed dead as the death toll continued to rise and was expected to reach a final toll of 1,000. Helicopters kept looking for survivors and helped people dig out corpses from the mud.
The geography of this region of Brazil was changed drastically due to these floods. It was said that streams were turned into rivers and that towns were reshaped by the disaster. The federal government soon decided to set up a warning system that would make citizens aware of these natural dangers and to prevent another disaster like this one.
Reading this has only reminded me of the various floods that have been invading our world for the past year. Tennessee was hit unexpectedly hard by floods in May, Sri Lanka as well as Australia have been devastated by floods recently, and now Brazil. Water can be incredibly detrimental to any environment, especially when there is too much of it, and man cannot compete with it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/20/us-brazil-rains-idUSTRE70I68P20110120
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