The U.S. Embassy will provide $25,000 to help victims of floods and mudslides that killed at least 196 people and left more than 10,000 homeless in Rio de Janeiro state, it was announced Friday. U.S. Consul-General Louis Schwartz will give a check for that amount to Gov. Wellington Moreira Franco on Saturday, the consulate's press office reported. It said the money is the total amount in the embassy's emergency fund. Such funds are provided by the U.S. government to its embassies around the world. In addition to the embassy fund, the United States has offered to provide Brazil with emergency supplies. Most of the money is expected to go to Petropolis, a mountain resort 40 miles north of Rio de Janeiro city. Civil defense officials said Friday that 12 days of rains caused flooding and landslides that killed 163 people in Petropolis and left 3,947 people homeless. U.S. consular officials visited Petropolis to check on the families of two U.S. citizens living there and found they were not seriously affected, the press office said. Other countries that have offered Brazil aid supplies include Britain, France, Italy and Nicaragua.
