Brazil’s northeastern states of Pernambuco and Alagoas have been hard hit by floods that have killed 33 people, with hundreds missing. An estimated 40,000 homes were washed away, leaving 100,000 people homeless, regional officials say. In Alagoas, more than 1,000 people are missing. The Brazilian cabinet is holding an emergency meeting to review the situation.
Heavy rain in eastern and southern China that began 12 June has caused landslides and flash floods, killing scores of people, with unofficial figures of around 100 deaths. Chinese news agency Xinhua reports that “About 9.27 million people in Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan were affected by the heavy rains as direct economic losses caused by the heavy rains have topped 10 billion yuan (about $1.46 billion).”
Eight students have died and 26 are injured, the result of a stampede in a middle school stairwell in Hunan province, China. Authorities say that a student tripped and fell as students were rushing out of evening classes, causing others to fall. Seven boys and one girl, ages 11-14, died, apparently from head injuries or being smothered, based on students’ descriptions of the accident. The school’s 3,500 students were rushing back to their dorms and most used one stairwell to avoid rainy weather, according to Xinhua, although the school has four exits. The Chinese news service says the private school has a reputation as one of the best in the region of Xiangxiang, a city of 900,000, and most of the students are from well-off families in the area. The head of the school and chairman of its board, as well as the local education director, are being held by police while the accident is investigated. The school remained open Tuesday, but the stairwell, less than 1.5 metres wide according to Xinhua, was cordoned off by police.
Links to others sites: CNN, Xinhua
