In Brazil, some 50 people are still missing following landslides and floods in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The most torrential rain in three decades has left at least 113 people dead since Monday.

Most of the victims died in the shanty towns of Rio de Janeiro - which were buried under mudslides - and the neighbouring city of Niteroi. Some 1200 Brazilians have been made homeless and about 10,000 houses remain at risk of collapse, mostly in the slums where a fifth of Rio's population lives. Mayor Eduardo da Costa Paes had advised residents of the Brazil's second largest city to remain at home where possible.

Many major roads leading to and from Rio are closed due to flooding and residents are still stranded across the city. The latest flooding and transportation chaos has renewed attention on Rio's poor infrastructure as it prepares to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.