Families were buried alive in their beds after landslides devastated three mountain towns north of Rio de Janeiro.
Torrential rain caused hillsides to collapse and rivers to burst causing some 130 deaths in Teresopolis, 60 miles north of Rio, according to the Reuters.
In Nova Friburgo there have been a further 107 deaths and in Petropolis 20 more.
Rescue workers are continuing to search for bodies and it is feared the death toll could rise much higher.
by Dinah Hatch
