Deadly Floods and Mudslides Strike Southern Brazil

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the country's south where floods and mudslides caused by torrential rains have killed 29 people, with the toll expected to rise.

Authorities in Rio Grande do Sul have declared a state of emergency as rescuers continue to search for dozens of people reported missing among the ruins of collapsed homes, bridges and roads.

Storm damage has affected nearly 150 municipalities in the state, also injuring 36 people and displacing more than 10,000.

Lula, who has blamed the torrent on climate change, arrived in the town of Santa Maria in the morning with a delegation of ministers and held a working meeting with Leite and other officials to coordinate rescue efforts, the government said.

The president promised "there will be no lack of human or material resources" to "minimize the suffering this extreme event is causing in the state."

The federal government, he added, "will be 100 percent at the disposition" of state officials.

Central authorities have already made available 12 aircraft, 45 vehicles and 12 boats as well as 626 soldiers to help clear roads, distribute food, water and mattresses, and set up shelters, a press statement said.

As the rains continued, forecasts warned the state's main Guaiba River, which has already overflowed its banks in some areas, would reach an extraordinary level of three meters and four meters the next day.

Entire communities in Rio Grande do Sul state have been completely cut off as persistent rains have destroyed bridges and blocked roads, and left towns without even telephone or internet services.

Rescuers and soldiers have been scrambling to free families trapped in their homes, many stuck on rooftops to escape rising waters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without access to electricity and drinking water, while classes have been suspended state-wide.