Sao Sebastiao, 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Sao Paulo and where many people from the city spend the pre-Lenten holiday weekend on the beach, was hard hit, as a record 60 centimeters (nearly two feet) of rain fell in 24 hours, city officials said.
Torrential rain in Brazil has caused flooding and landslides in southeast Sao Paulo state and claimed at least 36 lives on Carnival weekend, officials said.
Footages on TV and social media from the town of Sao Sebastiao showed entire neighborhoods under water, debris from hillside houses swept away by oozing earth, flooded highways and cars destroyed by fallen trees, among other damage.
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The state government said that at least 35 people died in Sao Sebastiao. A girl was also killed in the town of Ubatuba, news reports said. "Unfortunately, we are going to have many more deaths," the state civil defense chief, Henguel Pereira said.
Meanwhile, as many as 228 people were left homeless and 338 were evacuated in the coastal region north of the city of Sao Paulo, the state government said earlier, as rescue crews raced to help those hit by the storm. The authorities did not give a figure for how many people were missing or injured.
Sao Paulo state governor Tarcisio de Freitas declared a state of emergency in five towns along the coast after flying over areas devastated by the weather. He freed up the equivalent of $1.5 million for rescue operations.
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In a tweet, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that he will visit the area on Monday. He has been on holiday since Friday in the northeast state of Bahia.
Sao Sebastiao, 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Sao Paulo and where many people from the city spend the pre-Lenten holiday weekend on the beach, was hard hit, as a record 60 centimeters (nearly two feet) of rain fell in 24 hours, city officials said.
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That is more than twice the amount that normally falls in a month. Carnival events in Sao Sebastiao and elsewhere were cancelled.
Sao Sebastiao Mayor Felipe Augusto said that the officials have not yet gauged the scale of the damage. "We are trying to rescue the victims," he said, calling the situation in the town "extremely critical".