12,000 still homeless from Brazil landslides

As the world’s eyes remained fixed on the calamity in Japan, Brazil is still painfully recovering from the worst natural disaster in its history. The newspaper O Dia reports today that 12,639 people remain homeless in the wake of the landslides which killed hundreds of people and devastated entire cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro Jan. 12.

The victims are living in makeshift government shelters, surviving on handouts. It’s not clear how long they’ll be forced to keep doing so. With many sections of the flood-damaged cities still buried under mud and debris, it seems like few victims will be headed home anytime soon.