( dpa )- A series of landslides have killed at least nine people, including three children, in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state after it was lashed with heavy rainfall.
Nine bodies were recovered in the community of Itaipava in a mountainous region about 75 kilometres north of Rio de Janeiro city after Sunday's landslides, media reports said, citing emergency services.
In one hour, 135 millimetres of rain fell in the area Sunday, the amount that usually falls in a month and a half at this time of year, emergency services spokesman Jose Santana Mateus said.
The landslides buried several houses and injured two women who were taken to hospital, officials said. More than 20 people were left homeless, and important roads in the region were under water.
A state of emergency was declared in Itaipava and the neighbouring community of Cascatinha .
Storms plagued nearly the entire state of Rio de Janeiro Sunday as well as parts of Sao Paulo state. Meteorologists said the rains would continue nearly continuously until Tuesday, and some of Rio's renowned carnival parade was held Sunday night in the rain.