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Brazil flood death toll tops 800

The official death toll from floods and mudslides in Brazil has passed 800 as the South Amerian country continues to struggle with its worst natural disaster in decades.

The toll is expected to surpass 1,000 as rescue teams are searching for at least 400 people who are reported missing, a Press TV correspondent said on Sunday.

One third of the victims were children and under-aged youth, the correspondent further explained.

In the worst-hit town of Nova Friburgo near Rio de Janeiro, 389 deaths were recorded and in neighboring Teresopolis the death toll rose to 324, according to the national Civil Defense agency and Department of Health.

A total of nearly 14,000 people were forced to abandon their homes in the region, either because their homes were destroyed or deemed unsafe.

Meanwhile, fears are growing about disease outbreaks in the flood-stricken areas in the country.

Rescuers are finally arriving in villages cut off due to destroyed roads and bridges. The hampered rescue operations are being carried out amid high risk of further mudslides as unrelenting rain further destabilizes the soil in the waterlogged region.

The recent floods and mudslides — the deadliest natural disasters in Brazil in the past 40 years — were severe enough to change the geography of the region, according to officials.

Government officials said on Thursday that Brazil will create a nationwide disaster-prevention and early-warning system following the recent floods.

Brazil is the largest country in South America and the world’s fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population.

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