The World : Floods Kill 127 in Brazil

Devastating floods and mudslides have killed at least 127 people, including more than 100 in Brazil’s old summer capital of Petropolis, and left nearly 6,000 homeless, civil defense officials said. At least six different slides have hit Petropolis, a city of 150,000 in the hills above Rio de Janeiro that was founded in 1843 as an elegant resort by Emperor Pedro II. Rescue workers continued to hunt for victims beneath tons of mud and rock set loose by five days of torrential rains. In some Rio suburbs, where flood waters still were 8 feet deep, state health officials ordered massive vaccination campaigns to ward off tetanus and polio.