Rio De Janeiro, Dec 14 (IANS): Rescue teams have raised the death toll from heavy rains and flooding in the Brazilian state of Bahia to 10.
The floods forced nearly 20,000 people to move out from their homes, according to the regional Civil Defence agency, with 51 cities having declared a state of emergency, Xinhua news agency reported.
The rains started six days ago, caused by an extratropical cyclone, and intensified over the weekend.
Rainstorms left several towns and rural areas completely cut off, making it difficult for relief teams to reach them.
On Sunday, more than 200 military firefighters rescued people in flooded communities with the help of two helicopters.