Deadly landslides hit southern Brazil early Tuesday killing at least 12 people and leaving dozens more missing.
Rescue workers used shovels to dig through the muck after hillsides crumbled in heavy rain.
Hoping to find survivors they formed human chains to pass buckets hand-to-hand.
Hundreds of firefighters labored under tough conditions, even as they mourned a firefighter who died in the landslides.
Most of the missing were believed to be buried in their homes or under debris.
State authorities in Sao Paulo said more than 5,000 people had been forced from their homes.
More than half of the average rain for a normal month fell on the region in the past few days.
The civil defense office said rain was expected to continue Tuesday along Sao Paulo's coast.
