Rio De Janerio, Jan 30 (IANS): The death toll from the severe flooding in southeast Brazil's Minas Gerais state has reached 54, the authorities have said.

Almost half of those deaths occurred in the metro area of state capital Belo Horizonte, which is facing the rainiest month of January in 110 years, said the authorities on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Tuesday night, it rained almost 180 mm in three hours in Belo Horizonte, causing severe damage to dozens of streets even in neighborhoods that had never flooded before.

A total of 101 towns in Minas Gerais state declared a state of emergency over the past days, and at least 28,000 people had to leave their homes.

The situation is expected to get worse in the region, as the civil defence service issued a storm warning for the next hours. Weather forecast indicates even more rain and the possibility of hail in Minas Gerais.

Minas Gerais has suffered the most in recent storms, while other states in Brazil's southeastern region also registered deaths and severe damage.