World Cup 2014: Host city Manaus declares state of emergency in latest setback

Out-of-date food was seized by health inspectors from England's hotel in Rio

Manaus Stadium (GETTY IMAGES)

With two weeks to go until the World Cup, the host city of Manaus has declared state of emergency as the waters of an Amazon River tributary began to swell, forcing authorities to take preventives measures ahead of the games.

The 180-day state of emergency went into effect yesterday to assure swift access to emergency services if the Rio Negro spills into the city, although authorities don't expect it to flood.

City hall spokeswoman, Jacira Oliveira, told reporters that, even if there are floods, it won't affect the Arena Amazonia stadium which will host four World Cup games including England vs Italy on 14 June.

The latest setback comes just hours after out-of-date food was seized from England's hotel in Rio de Janeiro by Brazilian health inspectors, including 4.5lb of unusable butter, parma ham and salmon which was past its expiry date.

The Royal Tulip hotel, which will home the Three Lions during the competition, was also fined for "not providing condoms" to guests nor information about sexually transmitted diseases. The hotel has 15 days to appeal or pay a fine.

Meanwhile, the Football Association insisted that the situation is not "worrying", adding that England's chef is happy with the "cleanness of the facilities" and will continue to "supervise" the menu.

So far, World Cup preparations have been marred by a series of violent protests, missed deadlines and a last minute frenzy of infrastructure improvements ahead of the tournament, which is due to begin on 12 June in São Paulo.

Nine workers have died in the run-up to the games.