MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian authorities begin evacuation of shantytown ahead of planned demolitions

Rescue squads continue looking for survivors (EFE)

Brazilian authorities evacuated thousands of shantytown residents Sunday so their houses could be demolished after heavy rains that killed at least 224 people last week threatened further landslides.

Rio do Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes said residents of the Morro de Urubu favelas (shantytowns) were being evacuated ahead of demolitions planned for Monday. The mayor decreed late last week that residents could be forcibly removed from their neighbourhoods, perched precariously on hillsides.

“There is still a risk of rains in the city. We cannot let people stay in danger zones” he said, noting that some 10,000 people live in the designated “risk areas.”
Families will receive a “social pension” of 141 USD each month to pay for temporary housing until new houses are built, the mayor said.

On a visit to the Morro do Bumba slum in Niteroi on Sunday, Rio state Governor Sergio Cabral announced the federal government would provide a loan of some 2.3 billion USD to cover damages.

The slum, where dozens of houses were destroyed by landslides, was built on an old garbage dump, compacted by time. The hillside gave way after the heavy rains, burying alive some hundreds of people, still missing, according to official estimates.

Labour Minister Carlos Lupi has said a 30-year credit line of 567 million USD, with a 3% interest rate, has been set up to finance construction of public housing. The federal government meanwhile already released 113 million USD in aid for municipalities in Rio state affected by the floods and mudslides.

The heavy rain forced some 50,000 people to leave their homes, officials said, either because their homes were damaged or because they were ordered to leave due to fear of fresh landslides.