Last night, at least 200 people were buried alive in a mudslide near Rio de Janeiro. The Morro do Bumba slum of Niteroi, was built on mounds of rubbish accumulated over decades, making the ground unstable and vulnerable to collapse. The slide destroyed at least 50 homes and one church, which was said to have as many as 30 people inside.

Since it began raining heavily on Monday, flash floods were reported all over the area, causing many mudslides and creating transportation nightmares. It was nearly impossible to get anywhere in the city of six million people. In the Rocinha slum, officials said 16 inches (41 centimetres) of rain have fallen so far this month, three times the amount normally expected for the whole of April.

Rio officials expressed concern that rescue workers could be contaminated. They also plan to step up forced evictions, because they are worried about the possibility of another landslide at a nearby neighborhood, also built on top of an old dump. The mayor, Eduardo Paes, announced that 1,500 families will be removed from their homes in at least two of the Rio de Janeiro slums.

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