RIO DE JANEIRO — Lots of of rescuers searched Monday for survivors of landslides and flooding that killed no less than 36 individuals alongside the coast of Brazil’s southern state of Sao Paulo following an enormous weekend downpour.

Worst hit was town of Sao Sebastiao, the place no less than 35 have been useless. In neighboring Ubatuba a 7-year-old woman was killed. The catastrophe, in an space well-known for seashores flanked by mountains, prompted cancellations in lots of cities of the Carnival festivities now in full swing elsewhere within the nation.

Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas instructed tv community Globo that one other 40 individuals have been lacking. Almost 800 individuals have been homeless and 1,730 individuals have been displaced, his state authorities mentioned in an announcement.

Tv footage confirmed flooded properties with solely their roofs seen. Residents used small boats to hold gadgets and folks to elevated positions.

A girl who gave solely her first title, Mailsa, mentioned she and her husband, daughter and grandson solely barely escaped when a landslide destroyed her home within the Juquehy municipality of Sao Sebastiao. The home was partially submerged, components of it fell away and the remainder was left precariously perched on the sting of a hill.

“It was very fast. Both you run otherwise you die,” she mentioned. “It’s not doable to take something, solely your life, which is crucial factor.”

Members of the armed forces joined the search and rescue efforts, aggravated by poor entry to many areas after landslides blocked the snaking roads within the area’s highlands and floods washed away chunks of pavement in low-lying and oceanfront areas.

“Our rescue groups should not managing to get to a number of places. It’s a chaotic state of affairs,” Sao Sebastiao Mayor Felipe Augusto mentioned on social media late Sunday night time.

Augusto mentioned about 50 homes collapsed within the metropolis because of the landslides, and he posted a number of movies of destruction and search efforts, together with one in all a child being rescued by locals lined up on a flooded avenue.

The freeway connecting Rio de Janeiro state with Sao Paulo’s port metropolis of Santos was blocked by landslides and floodwaters.

Precipitation in Sao Sebastiao had surpassed 600 millimeters (23.6 inches) throughout a 24-hour interval over the weekend, among the many largest such downpours ever in such a brief interval in Brazil.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited the area on Monday. He noticed the injury in Sao Sebastiao from a helicopter and met with Gov. de Freitas at Sao Sebastiao’s theatre, the place search operations have been being coordinated.

De Freitas declared a state of emergency for the hardest-hit cities, together with Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela and Bertioga, which permits expedited allocation of funds for reduction. He mentioned 7 million reais ($1.35 million) already had been launched.

The heavy rain affected water, electrical energy and telephone providers, in response to an announcement from the state authorities, which posted on Twitter a video exhibiting 30,000 liters of water being transported to Sao Sebastiao. Hygiene kits, blankets, sleeping luggage, mattresses and medical provides have additionally been despatched.

The Transport Ministry mentioned in an announcement there could be no lack of economic and materials sources.

The affected space, on the northern coast of Sao Paulo state, is a frequent Carnival vacation spot for rich vacationers preferring to steer clear of huge avenue events in huge cities.