By Antonio de la Jara SANTIAGO, May 23 (Reuters) - Heavy rains and flooding that have killed five people and displaced thousands in south-central Chile also have collapsed road and rail bridges and left many in the capital without drinking water, the government said on Friday. Many schools remained closed in Santiago and elsewhere on Friday after flood waters churned up sediment at water treatment plants, while several rivers burst their banks farther south deluging thousands of homes. "More than seven rivers have overflowed," said Juan Saldivia, undersecretary of public works. "We had a very complex situation overnight, and Route 5 (Chile's main north-south highway) has been cut in three places." Television footage showed a collapsed railway bridge in the region of Maule, about 125 miles (200 km) south of Santiago, which forced the suspension of rail services to the south. The government said 8,000 homes had been affected and that 316 people were stranded across the country. About 500 people were in shelters while 14,000 forced from their homes were living with friends and family. Of the five people killed earlier in the weeklong deluge, two died in landslides, one was struck by a boulder and another was hit by a falling tree. One man died of hypothermia. Streets turned into rivers in some areas. In Santiago alone, 1.4 inches (35.7 millimeters) of rain fell in the space of 24 hours -- the amount that normally falls during the entire southern hemisphere winter. Parts of Chile experience downpours and flooding around this time every year. Police and firemen armed with sandbags and heavy machinery sought to build flood defenses to protect houses in the eastern sector of the capital after a canal overflowed. There were no immediate details of any impact on crops, which had been hurt by one of the worst droughts in decades. Maule is a major wine producing region. Rains eased on Friday, giving way to sunshine, but further rainfall was expected next week. The upside is that the rains have refilled hydroelectric dam reservoirs drained in recent months by the worst drought in decades, and reduced the likelihood of electricity rationing. The major Colbun <COL.SN> reservoir, owned by the company of the same name and located in southern central Chile, has seen its levels rise beyond the May average. "The rains imply that we can relax a bit and that the chances of rationing have been reduced," Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman told an energy seminar in Santiago. Scant rainfall has hit hydroelectric power generation, while cuts in natural gas imports from neighboring Argentina and high costs of running diesel generators are putting pressure on industry and the public alike. But Tokman said the rains and guarantees of at least limited natural gas from Argentina have brightened the energy outlook for the time being. (Additional reporting by Monica Vargas and Pav Jordan; Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by Bill Trott)
African immigrants displaced in xenophobic violence in South Africa flee aboard a train on the Mozambican border town of Ressano Garcia May 23, 2008. South Africa's aspirations to lead the continent ...
