44 killed in Brazil as floods and landslides sweep through Rio de Janeiro

Desperate hunt for survivors after ten inches of rain fell in three hours

The Brazilian city of Petropolis was struck by a deluge and there are fears the number of dead could rise

The state fire department said the area saw just over 10 inches of rainfall within three hours on Tuesday

Videos showed cars and houses being dragged away by landslides and water swirling through Petropolis

Governor Claudio Castro said all the state government's heavy machinery was being used to find survivors 

At least 44 people have been killed in Brazil as devastating mudslides and floods swept through a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state, local authorities confirmed. 

The city of Petropolis was struck by a deluge on Tuesday, and Mayor Rubens Bomtempo said the number of dead could rise as rescuers picked through the wreckage.

A total of 21 people have been recovered alive as civilians joined the official recovery efforts early Wednesday. 

Among them were Priscila Neves and her siblings, who looked through the mud for any sign of their disappeared parents, but found only clothing. Neves said she had given up hope of finding her parents alive.

The state fire department said late Tuesday the area saw 25.8cm (just over 10in) of rainfall within three hours on Tuesday - almost as much as during the previous 30 days combined. 

Governor Claudio Castro said the situation was 'almost like war' and that all the state government's heavy machinery was being called in to help dig out the buried area in a desperate hunt for survivors.

He told journalists that soldiers were already working in the stricken region, which saw more than 900 deaths from heavy rainfall in January 2011.  

Video posted on social media showed cars and houses being dragged away by landslides, and water swirling through Petropolis and neighboring districts.

Rosilene Virgilio, 49, was in tears as she recalled the pleas for help from a woman she could not save.

'Yesterday there was a woman screaming, "Help! Get me out of here!" But we couldn't do anything; the water was gushing out, the mud was gushing out,' Virgilio told The Associated Press. 

credit: https://www.dailymail.co.uk