Rescue workers continue to look for victims, reconnect isolated
communities and clear roads, some of which remain blocked,
trapping an undetermined number of tourists who traveled for
Brazil's Carnival celebrations.
Weather forecasts show heavy rains will continue in Sao Paulo's
coastal area, challenging civil defense and fire department
rescue teams and raising the prospect of a higher death toll.
The federal government determined the mobilization of several
ministries to assist victims, restore infrastructure and start
reconstruction work. Sao Paulo state declared a 180-day state of
calamity for six cities after what experts described as an
unprecedented, extreme weather event.
On Monday, Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas will meet
federal officials as they coordinate the response to the
tragedy, the statement said.
Operations at the port of Santos, Latin America's largest, were
interrupted amid wind gusts exceeding 55 kpm (34 mph) and waves
over one meter high on Saturday, according to a local news
outlet.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was spending carnival
in Bahia state in Brazil's northeast, is set to visit the main
affected areas on Monday, his office said.
(Reporting by Ana Mano in São Paulo and Lisandra Paraguassu in
Brasília; Editing by Diane Craft)
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