Cyclone rains in Brazil's south kill 22, leave cities completely flooded

An extratropical cyclone has been battering southern Brazil, flooding homes, swelling rivers and claiming the lives of nearly two dozen people, state authorities said on Tuesday.

Luana da Luz is among hundreds of Brazilians who have packed up their belongings in an effort to escape the rising waters.

"Since dawn, we saw that (the water) was going to flood (our house) and we were putting things on top of the table, on top of the wood stove, but it didn't help," said Da Luz, a resident of the town of Passo Fundo in the southern state of Rio Grande Sul, where state authorities have confirmed the deaths of 21 people.

Video obtained by Reuters showed houses in Mucum submerged by rising water, while streets and rivers were also flooded.

Dozens of homes had their roofs damaged by a hailstorm and hundreds of people are without contact in Rio Grande do Sul.

Brazil's federal government has announced some measures to respond to the disaster, and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised his government would do whatever is necessary to "save people from these problems."

"I feel devastated. I lost everything," said Dice Reginatto, from the city of Nova Bassano in Rio Grande do Sul. "There are many people who lost much more, but here at home I have nothing left."

The flood situation has deteriorated in Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil, where the governor, Eduardo Leite, has now declared a state of emergency.

Heavy rain fell in the state from 02 September. As of 05 September, at least 4 people had lost their lives and around 350 people were displaced from their homes.

The state's Civil Defence warned of further flooding. Rising rivers, swollen by further heavy rain, resulted in severe flooding in multiple parts of the state, in particular in the Caí and Taquari river basins.

Visiting affected areas on 06 September, Governor Eduardo Leite described the situation as "devastating".

"We saw communities completely submerged. It's heartbreaking, there's a lot of destruction. I had to hold back the tears at times. And we know that more deaths can be seen. This situation hurts and touches us. But we must stand firm to give all the support to the population", said the governor.

The state government has so far confirmed 37 fatalities, including 14 in Muçum, 9 in Roca Sales, 3 in Lajeado, 2 in Estrela, 2 in Ibiraiaras, 3 in Cruzeiro do Sul, 1 in Mato Castelhano, 1 in Passo Fundo, 1 in Encantado and 1 in Santa Tereza.

State Civil Defence said floods and storms have impacted communities in 79 municipalities. A total of 56,787 people have been affected, with 5,894 people displaced.

Two bodies more were recovered in Bulgaria's Black Sea coastal area on Wednesday, bringing to four the death toll from floods triggered by torrential rains, Bulgarian News Agency BTA reported.

The bodies of a local judge, her daughter -- a veterinarian --, and a man were found in a submerged car that was washed away from a bridge into the sea when the river overflowed, regional police chief Emil Pavlov told journalists in Tsarevo.

The fourth victim was a man who was also swept away as he was attempting to cross the same bridge on foot, Pavlov said.

It was not immediately clear whose bodies were recovered on Wednesday.

A state of emergency was declared in Tsarevo municipality on Tuesday.

At a nearby Black Sea tourist resort on Arapya beach, cars and caravans were washed away by torrential rain and strong winds.

"For about 20 hours, it was pouring rain with a headwind, non stop - that was the reason why the river overflowed and caused all this damage. It swept cars and car trailers into the sea," local resident Doctor Plamen Petrov told Reuters TV.