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Caracas - The ceaseless rains that have fallen for several weeks in Venezuela caused three deaths in Caracas on Friday and two earlier in Miranda state, while authorities in the northwestern state of Falcon were forced to declare a state of emergency.
Before dawn Friday a mudslide in a poor neighborhood near the capital's downtown area buried three children ages 11, 8 and 2, while leaving four people injured.
The bodies of the three young victims were recovered by firefighters, while the injured - two adults and two minors - were hospitalized.
On Thursday the downpours in Miranda state in the northern part of the country left two people dead and more than 1,000 families affected, the regional director of Civil Protection, Victor Lira, said.
The official said that the swollen Cupira River in the eastern part of the state swept away and drowned one person, while another was buried in a mudslide.
Streets were flooded in the Barlovento region of Miranda state, where "631 homes are flooded more than a meter (3 feet) deep in water," Lira said.