Toll from flooding in Brazil reaches 57

The death toll from the heavy rain floods in Brazil's south has climbed to 57, including 48 people killed in the most affected state of Minas Gerais, the state's civil defense office said on Monday.

The previous reports suggested that 37 people had fallen victim to the torrential rainfall.

"Most of the deaths, eight, were registered in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state," the civil defense office said in a communique, adding that 19 other people were missing.

Belo Horizonte registered 171.8 mm of rainfall on January 24, the highest recorded precipitation in 110 years. A state of emergency has been declared in 99 cities located across Minas Gerais, amid the threat of rainfall continuation.

As many as 20,000 people across the region have been forced to leave their homes over floods and landslides.