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Floods in São Sebastião, Brazil
Photo: Nelson Almeida/AFP
A violent storm has triggered flooding and landslides on the Atlantic coast of the state of São Paulo.
As the local government announced on Twitter on Sunday, a number of people were killed.
Hundreds are still buried, more than 300 homeless due to the damage caused.
According to the news agencies Reuters and AP, at least 36 people are said to have died.
According to media reports, children were also among the dead.
Governor Tarcísio de Freitas declared a state of emergency in five affected communities.
The army used helicopters to rescue the victims.
São Sebastião, where many people from São Paulo, around 200 kilometers away, spend the carnival weekend, was one of the hardest hit.
According to the city administration, 60 centimeters of rain fell within 24 hours.
The city's mayor, Felipe Augusto, spoke of an "extremely critical" situation, and carnival events in the city were canceled.
Images on television and online networks show how entire neighborhoods in the city of São Sebastião are under water and debris from houses is washed away.
It also shows flooded highways and cars damaged by fallen trees.
In the midst of the sad events there were also "two miracles", tweeted the government of São Paulo.
A trapped two-year-old child and a pregnant woman in labor and her baby were rescued.
Experts spoke of an unprecedented extreme weather event.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced that he would visit the hardest-hit areas on Monday.
More heavy rains are forecast for the region, making it difficult for rescue workers to find missing people.
The authorities fear that the number of victims will continue to rise.
Just last year, more than 230 people died in floods and landslides in the city of Petrópolis in the south-east of the country.
ala/dpa/Reuters
