Mudslides in Rio de Janeiro have wiped out neighborhoods and buried people alive.

At least 200 people in the town of Morro Bumba are feared dead after the latest landslide.

Rescuers say anyone there when it hit was probably killed instantly. Still, they are digging through the mud in search of their loved ones.

"In our experience, it's an instant death" for anyone caught in such a slide, said Pedro Machado, undersecretary of Rio state's Civil Defense Department.

Another 11,000 residents in the area have evacuated their homes.

The government will use an $114 million emergency fund to help mudslide victims.