© The Associated Press / Felipe DanaPeople salvage items from their homes after a landslide in the Alto Floresta neighborhood of Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Wednesday Jan. 19, 2011. Mudslides have destroyed entire communities, killed at least 700 people since Jan. 11 and left nearly 14,000 homeless.
In Rio state, meanwhile, deaths from last week's mudslides have risen to 727.
As rain fell on Sao Paulo, water rose above car windows in some points in the South America's largest city, blocking major highways.
The mayor's office issued flood alerts for much of the city Wednesday. One woman died the day before when her house collapsed amid heavy rains.
In towns north of Rio de Janeiro where the deadly mudslides hit last week, a break in rain allowed rescuers to step up delivery of supplies to isolated areas and recover bodies buried under the tons of earth and debris, pushing the known death toll up.
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