Switch to Desktop Site  Rio floods: Why did more than 100 people
die?  Brazilians are asking why authorities were not better
prepared for the Rio floods, when an estimated 11 inches of rain
crashed down in just 24 hours, killing more than 100 people.
Homes affected by rains and landslides are seen in the Morro de
Borel neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, April 7, 2010.
Brazilians are asking why authorities were not better prepared
for the Rio floods, which left more than 100 people dead.
Samitri Bar, Rio de Janeiro Press Office/AP  About these ads  As
the torrential rains began to cede over Rio de Janeiro today,
following the state’s worst floods since 1966, one question was
stamped onto every newspaper front-page in Brazil: Why?  Why was
Rio de Janeiro – Brazil’s second largest city and one with a
history of tropical rainstorms and flooding – not better
prepared for the catastrophe that struck on late Monday and
Tuesday this week, when an estimated 11 inches of rain crashed
down onto the iconic cit