The death toll in the storms which have caused landslides and floods in and around the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro has risen to 150.

Scores of people are still missing after the region was hit on Monday by the heaviest torrential rain in four decades. Most of the victims died in the town of Niterói, where a fresh landslide late on Wednesday destroyed some 50 homes and buried 200 people under the mud. At least 1700 Brazilians have been made homeless and an estimated 11,000 people have had to abandon their homes.

The main roads in Rio de Janeiro are still flooded. Schools are closed and many flights to and from Rio de Janeiro have been cancelled. Mayor Eduardo da Costa Paes had advised residents of the Brazil's second largest city to remain at home where possible. The latest flooding and transport chaos has focused attention on Rio's poor infrastructure as it prepares to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. Meteorologists predict the rainfall will continue, but not as heavy as before.