Fatalities as Northeast Brazilian Dam Bursts

Algodões Dam in northeast Brazil, weakened by weeks of heavy rains, burst yesterday afternoon, leaving the city of Cocal da Estação, with 30,000 inhabitants, under 20 meters of water. At least six people have reportedly been drowned, and 500 homes destroyed.

According to the state government of Piauí, a 50-meter hole opened in the dam. The city had been affected by flooding caused by the dam's leaking over the past month, but about 10,000 people had begun to return to their homes last week, after the engineer responsible for the dam's construction and the state's governor guaranteed the dam was safe. Now, civil defense authorities are working around the clock to save potential victims of the tragedy. Roads are reportedly washed away, making rescue work more difficult. Energy has been cut off to the city to prevent accidents.

Algodões I Dam, built in 2005, provides water storage in the semi-arid region, and has a capacity of 52 million cubic meters of water.

• Watch an amateur video of the Algodões I Dam collapse