Brazil's dam disaster

This village used to be home for about 600 people. Then on Nov. 5, a dam at a nearby iron ore mine burst, unleashing a tsunami of mud that swept away nearly everything in its path, flattening houses, uprooting trees and tossing cars.

Thirteen people are confirmed dead, and 11 more remain missing.

With hundreds of survivors holed up in hotels and with family members in nearby towns, Bento Rodrigues and other nearby hamlets like Paracatu have become ghost towns — mud-slathered no-go-zones where a plastic rose, a religious picture, a doll are the only reminders of the lives people built.

"Here is where I raised a family, talked to my friends, played card games. Here is where I made a living," said Joao Eloi da Silva, whose once-bustling bar in Paracatu is a mud-filled shell. "Now my heart is locked, and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life."

The effects of the dam failure at the Samarco mine continue to ripple outward, affecting hundreds of thousands of people here in two states. After obliterating the nearby villages, the tide of mud and debris surged on, blanketing a wide swath of land and cascading into the Doce River.

The plume of mud devastated wildlife and compromised the drinking water source for cities both here in Minas Gerais state and in the neighboring state of Espirito Santo.

In the town of Colatina, people queued day and night for bottles of mineral water provided by the company operating the mine, Samarco, which is jointly owned by mining giants Vale of Brazil and BHP Billiton of Australia.

The mud plume snaked along hundreds of kilometers (miles) and has reached the Atlantic, threatening the breeding ground for critically endangered leatherback sea turtles.

The disaster also threatens the traditional way of life of the Krenak, an indigenous people who live along the Doce River.

"The Krenak people need the river. We live from the fishing and hunting and today there is nothing we can do," said Ererre, who goes by his first name only. "Now our river is dead, our river is over. Our fish are dead, everything is dead."

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In this Nov. 23, 2015 photo, artificial rose buds lie in muddy debris, in the hamlet of Bento Rodrigues, Brazil. The village, in the central state of Minas Gerais, was home to about 600 people until the disaster hit. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, Danielle Savy, member of the animal protection group Forca Animal, works to coax a dog out of a mudslide damaged home, in Paracatu, Brazil. After obliterating the town, the tide of mud and debris surged forward, blanketing a wide swath of land and cascading into the Doce River, leaving behind the dazed survivors. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 21, 2015 photo, Thiago Palassi collects a cup of water from the Doce River, in Colatina, Brazil. The flood of mud unleashed by the dam burst at the Samarco mine all but erased a nearby hamlet. The wave spilled into the Doce River, where it has devastated fish and other wildlife and compromised the source of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 21, 2015 photo, residents stand in line at a free water distribution site, weeks after a dam burst at the Samarco iron mine, causing mudslides and contaminated the area's drinkable water supplies, in Colatina, Brazil. The bottled water is provided by Samarco, which is jointly owned by mining giants Vale of Brazil and Australiaís BHP Billiton. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

This Nov. 24, 2015 photo, shows the destruction of the hamlet of Paracatu, Brazil, caused by an early November mudslide, triggered by the failing of a dam at a nearby iron ore mine. Now the area is a mud-slathered no-go-zones where there are few reminders of the lives people built here. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 21, 2015 photo, fishermen use a net in a temporary pool they built to protect some of the creatures that inhabit the Doce River from polluted waters, in Colatina, Brazil. The plume of mud released by the Samarco mine dam disaster, devastated wildlife, despite efforts by local fisherman and others to move fish out of the contaminated waters. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 23, 2015 photo, a car sits precariously on top of the wall of a home, destroyed when the dam of an iron ore mine burst in early November, causing a mudslide, in Bento Rodrigues, Brazil. Thirteen people died in the tragedy, and another 11 remain missing. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, a wounded dog receives treatment in Mariana, Brazil, after it was rescued from a mudslide damaged site. Since the beginning of the tragedy, at least 150 animals have been rescued. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 21, 2015 photo, men place a large tree branch to use as a burning barricade while they protest for the lack of drinking water, in Colatina, Brazil. Nearly a month after a dam at a nearby Samarco iron mine burst, the effects of the disaster continue to ripple outward, affecting hundreds of thousands of people in two states, compromising the drinking water source for residents of cities in Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo states. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 21, 2015 photo, a girl questions why the man standing next to her was allowed to step ahead of her in a line for free water, at a distribution site, in Colatina, Brazil. Residents were queuing day and night for the bottles of water. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, a framed military police certificate hangs above a framed image of Jesus Christ and Mary with a message that reads in Portuguese "Blessing of the homes," hang on the wall of a home destroyed by an early November mudslide, in Paracatu, Brazil. Then the dam at a nearby iron ore mine burst, it unleashed a tsunami of mud that swept away nearly everything in its path, flattening houses, uprooting trees and tossing cars asunder. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, a wounded horse, rescued from an area devastated by a recent mudslide, stands in an improvised shelter in Mariana, Brazil. A flood of mud unleashed by the dam burst at the Samarco mine all but erased a nearby hamlet, injuring both man and beast. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 21, 2015 photo, a fisherman holds a fish over a net in a temporary pool built to protect some of the creatures that inhabit the Doce River from polluted waters, in Colatina, Brazil. Even though the fishermen claim to have rescued at least 110 species from the polluted waters, nearly a month after the dam burst, the effects of the disaster at the Samarco iron ore mine continue to affect wildlife. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, a doll lies embedded in a layer of mud in Paracatu, Brazil. Thirteen people died in the tragedy, and another 11 remain missing. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 21, 2015 photo, a man walks away with donated bottled water at a free distribution site, in Colatina, Brazil. The bottled water is provided by the company behind the iron ore mine disaster, Samarco, which is jointly owned by mining giants Vale of Brazil and Australiaís BHP Billiton. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 23, 2015 photo, a satellite dish sits amid debris in a home destroyed when dams of an iron ore mine burst in early November, causing a mudslide, in the village of Bento Rodrigues, Brazil. The village, in the central state of Minas Gerais, was home to about 600 people until Nov. 5, when the dam burst, unleashing a tsunami of mud that swept away nearly everything in its path, flattening houses, uprooting trees and tossing cars asunder. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, the color brown on the church's white walls indicate the level which water and mud reached during a recent mudslide triggered by the failing of a dam at a nearby iron ore mine, in Paracatu, Brazil. After the disaster hit, the hamlet of Paracatu and other nearby hamlets like Bento Rodrigues became ghost towns. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

This Nov. 23, 2015 photo shows debris awash in mud in Bento Rodrigues, Brazil. After obliterating several towns, the tide of mud and debris surged forward, blanketing a wide swath of land and cascading into the Doce River. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

This Nov. 23, 2015 photo, shows the walls of a home covered in mud, damaged when a dam that burst at the nearby iron ore mine caused a mudslide, in Bento Rodrigues, Brazil. With hundreds of survivors holed up in hotels and with family members in nearby towns, Bento Rodrigues and other nearby hamlets like Paracatu have become ghost towns. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 22, 2015 photo, Ererre, of the Krenak people, rows his boat in the now polluted Doce River, contaminated by a mix of residues from a dam that burst in early November, in Resplendor, Brazil. "Here we used to have a lot of fish that we liked. Now, our river is dead, our river is over. Our fish are dead, everything is dead." Errere said. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 22, 2015 photo, Ererre, left center, and Jose Cecilio Damasceno, both of the Krenak people, row their boat on the Doce River, polluted by a mix of residues from a dam that burst in early November, in Resplendor, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The disaster threatens their traditional way of life as an indigenous people who live along the Doce River. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, Danielle Savy, member of the animal protection group Forca Animal, rescues a dog, left behind in Paracatu, Brazil, a community devastated by an early November mudslide, triggered by a dam burst at a nearby mining company. Savy says she has rescued about 15 animals. Many pets were found dead she said because they had been leashed. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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Text from the AP news story, AP PHOTOS: Brazil dam disaster leaves swath of destruction. 

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