RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Rainfall in the Belo Horizonte metro area in southeast Brazil reached 171.8 mm Friday, the highest for a 24-hour period in the region since measurements started 110 years ago.
The heavy precipitation has led to at least three deaths and severe damage, according to Brazil's National Meteorology Institute.
Three people from the same family -- the mother and her six-year-old and six-month-old children -- died in a large mudslide which hit their house in Belo Horizonte metro area. A fourth victim, reportedly a godmother of one of the children, is still missing. Search efforts lasted a whole day and will be resumed Saturday morning.
Over 30 mudslides and building damage were registered in the metro area on Friday. A number of roads were blocked by landslides, several of the city's main avenues were flooded and neighborhoods were under water.
Hundreds of people in towns in the area had to leave their homes and local governments have set up shelters in public schools and churches.
With a population of 2.5 million, Belo Horizonte, the sixth largest city in Brazil, is located in the southeastern region, where severe storms are commonplace during summer. The Belo Horizonte metro region with a population of over 5.1 million is the third largest urban area in the country.
