At least 33 people have died in two weeks of flooding in north-east Brazil, and more than 77 000 people have been left homeless, with officials warning on Wednesday that the heavy rain would continue.
The state of Paraiba was the worst-hit, according to the national Civil Defence service. Twenty-six of the fatalities occurred there, and 76 towns are under water.
The region is usually parched for much of the year, and thus largely unprepared for sudden heavy rains.
Authorities say the weather was moving inland and have issued an alert for the central states of Goias and the federal state containing the capital, Brasilia.
Intense rains, lightning strikes and winds of up to 50km/h an hour were expected into Friday, Civil Defence officials said in a bulletin.
An emergency situation has been declared in the worst-affected states and the government was providing $280-million in aid. — Sapa-AFP