Floods, mudslides kill 50 in southeast Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 7 (Reuters) The death toll from last week's mudslides in southeast Brazil reached 50, Brazil's Civil Defense service said today, with more downpours forecast for this week.

Most of the deaths occurred in mountainous areas of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states last Thursday and Friday when flimsy homes on steep slopes were swept away in a sea of mud, said a spokesman for the Civil Defence, who asked not to be named.

A state of emergency was declared in many districts.

''The search for victims continues,'' the spokesman said, adding that firefighters from the Civil Defence Department who were doing the rescue work said that the overall death toll had risen to around 50.

Rio de Janeiro's new state Gov Sergio Cabral Filho is due to travel today with Minister of National Integration Pedro Britto to Novo Friburgo, one of the worst affected mountainous towns, to meet mayors of the disaster-hit region.

More than 15,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Rio de Janeiro state, according to the Civil Defence.

The federal government has allocated 57 million reais for disaster relief Although it was dry today, weather experts said that more heavy rain was forecast.

''Rain will continue, becoming heavier in the second half of the week,'' said Lucyara Rodrigues Pereira at private meteorologists Somar, adding 100 to 130 mm of rain was forecast in the states of Rio de Janeiro and neighboring Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo.

Brazil's summer holiday season has been particularly wet this year as cold weather fronts moving northwards from the Antarctic meet warm humid air heading south from the Amazon.

REUTERS PB RN2237