The Oozing Death

For seven humid, wakeful nights, the crash of thunder and flash of lightning had kept the cariocas awake, and the superstitious among them wondered if the gods of darkness had decided to unloose their wrath. Apparently they had. Abruptly the skies opened over Rio, and in four days torrential rains dumped nearly two feet of water on the city. Declared Guanabara (Rio) Governor Francisco Negrao de Lima: "This was not a rain; it was a Biblical deluge."

Hurt worst were the favelas, the shantytowns that house one-quarter of Rio's 4,000,000 inhabitants. Many of the favelas cling precariously to steep hills. As the rains loosened the soil, the shacks slid dizzily down. Many favela dwellers escaped; others failed to get out soon enough. Slum dwellers in the low-lying northern suburb fared little better: the entire area was flooded.

The more prosperous suffered as well. Boulders cascaded from the hills, breaking water mains and damaging houses. Mud oozed down, clogging streets. Hordes of rats scurried from the flooded sewers, and health authorities started mass immunizations to avoid a typhoid epidemic. Electrical power failed in many neighborhoods.

At week's end the rains subsided, and city officials could at last assess the damage. They had already counted 214 dead and 2,000 injured. More victims would be found as digging continued at the worst-hit favelas.

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