TERESOPOLIS, Brazil, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Flooding and mudslides have killed at least 245 people in southeastern Brazil, officials said Wednesday.
Jornal do Brasil reported officials said the death toll included 97 people in Nova Friburgo, 130 in Teresopolis and 18 in Petropolis. The Brazilian newspaper said local officials said the number of dead in Petropolis could reach 40.
The dead include four firefighters killed while on a rescue operation when their vehicle was buried by a landslide in Nova Friburgo, a city of about 178,000 people in the mountains northeast of Rio de Janeiro that was without power.
Teresopolis Mayor Jorge Mario has declared a state of emergency in his region.
"The situation is chaotic. It is mud everywhere. I am stranded in my apartment," said Nova Friburgo resident Mirian Manhas. "The water filled the first floor of the garage of my building and almost flooded the second. I can not leave home to work."
In Teresopolis, 60 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, a river overflowed its banks, submerging buildings, while rainfall set off mudslides, the BBC reported.
"It's a huge catastrophe, a major disaster," Mayor Jorge Mario told Globo television.
Civil defense officials in Teresopolis said it rained 5.6 inches in 24 hours, more than the usual total for January.
An elderly couple died in the town of Petropolis, near Teresopolis, Brazilian media reported.
Power and telephone lines were down in the three towns, and drinking water was cut off, officials said.
Rio de Janeiro Gov. Sergio Cabral asked the navy to helicopter rescue teams to the area.
