Brazilians braced for more rain after landslides kill hundreds

As rescue teams and residents searched through the wreckage of hillside communities near Rio de Janiero, forecasters warned the wet weather was likely to last into next week.

"It will keep raining until at least next Wednesday in the Serrana region of Rio de Janeiro. We are predicting a light but steady rain, which is not good because it could lay the conditions for more landslides," warned the head of national weather institute, Luiz Cavalcanti.

He stressed "light but continuous rain is very dangerous" because there is nowhere for it to flow away to and "it accumulates until the earth gives way under its weight and swallows up the hillside."

Several small towns and rural areas were cut off after the floods washed away roads and tracks.

At least 545 people died in the towns of Nova Friburgo, Teresopolis, Petropolis and Sumidouro, the local mayors and Civil Defense officials reported. The toll however is not final, as rescuers continue to search amid the mud-covered rubble for bodies.

Forecasters claimed the storms dumped the equivalent of a month's rain on the area in just a few hours as some 12,000 people were left homeless.