Rescue operations continue in flooded southern Brazil despite new rain

Heavy rains in the state of Rio Grande do Sul last week caused rivers to overflow, leaving 136 people dead, 756 injured and affecting nearly two million people, the Civil Defense agency said. Some 125 people are still missing, while more than 410,000 have been forced to flee their homes due to the disaster, which United Nations experts and the Brazilian government link to climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon. More than 92,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the floods, according to the National Confederation of Municipalities.