World Notes BRAZIL

The spectacular granite peaks that frame Rio de Janeiro make it one of the world's most striking cities. Relentless rains turned beauty into chaos last week, however, as floods and mudslides struck hill-hugging shantytowns and roared into busy neighborhoods below. One slide drove more than 500 tons of mud and rock onto a clinic for the aged, killing 25 patients and staff members. Rush-hour traffic braked to a halt as floodwaters covered downtown thoroughfares, causing ten-mile tie-ups.

Last week's cloudbursts killed at least 90 people and raised February's death toll in Rio state to more than 280. An additional 735 people were injured and more than 17,000 left homeless. Mayor Saturnino Braga said the city would have to spend $100 million to make repairs.