More than 500 dead in Brazil flooding
January 15, 2011 -- Updated 0042 GMT (0842 HKT)
Teresopolis, Brazil (CNN) -- It was like a tsunami from the sky in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state as floodwater gushed through hill towns and giant boulders catapulted from hillsides, instantly crushing cars and houses.
At least 540 people have been killed and another 10,000 people living in what used to be picturesque mountain towns popular with tourists have been affected by the torrential rains that began at the start of the year, civil defense authorities told the official Agencia Brasil news agency.
Rescuers have not been able to reach some hard-hit areas and many more people are feared dead, the agency said.
Relatives of flood victims seek information about family members in Teresopolis, about 60 miles from Rio de Janeiro, on January 13, as anger grows over the scale of the disaster.
