SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The death toll from heavy rains that flooded the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil has risen to at least 66, local authorities said on Sunday.
The number of people still missing rose to 101 and more than 80,000 were displaced, according to the state civil defense authority. The country was investigating whether another six deaths were related to the storms, he added.
Storms in recent days have affected around two-thirds of the nearly 500 cities in the state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina.
Floods destroyed roads and bridges in several areas. The rains also caused landslides and the partial collapse of a dam at a small hydroelectric plant.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to visit Rio Grande do Sul on Sunday.
(Reporting by Andre Romani and Eduardo Simões in São Paulo, editing by Angus MacSwan)
