SAO PAULO, Brazil – At least 10 people have died in floods and mudslides caused by heavy rains in two days in southern Brazil just two weeks after slides killed nearly 130, the government and Brazilian news media said Tuesday.
Three of those who died in the latest round of downpours were killed near Rio de Janeiro Monday when the warehouse they were building collapsed, the state-run Agencia Brasil news service said.
Another seven died in the south-central state of Minas Gerais, including a family of four killed before dawn Tuesday when a mudslide swept through their home, according to G1, the Web site of Brazil's Globo TV.
The new deaths came just two weeks after extremely heavy rains caused thousands of mudslides in Santa Catarina state just south of Rio de Janeiro — killing 128 people and leaving 26 missing and feared dead. That catastrophe prompted a multibillion-dollar government effort to repair roads, ports and homes that were swept away.
Officials told Brazilian news media that two bodies were found Tuesday in a swollen river near Belo Horizonte, the state capital of Minas Gerais, and a construction worker was killed the same day when he was hit in the head by a concrete beam dislodged from the rain-soaked earth.
Exacerbating the tragedy, 11 soldiers were captured on video stealing donations sent to Santa Catarina flood victims, Brazilian news media reported.
The soldiers were relieved of their duties, along with volunteers who allegedly sorted through tons of donations sent from around the country, picking the best items for themselves, the news media reported.
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