Floods force thousands from homes in Brazil

Nearly 20,000 people have been driven from their homes after heavy rain caused flooding in southern Brazil.

The Civil Defence Department of the state of Rio Grande do Sul said heavy downpours over the past three days had forced 19,363 people to seek shelter with relatives and friends or in schools and gymnasiums.

A 41-year-old man drowned when he fell into a small river he was trying to cross.

The department said the rain had now eased and people were expected to begin returning to their homes in the next few days.

Rain has also died down in the north-eastern states of Pernambuco and Paraiba where earlier this week almost 27,000 people had to leave their homes.

Ten people died in the two states, most in mudslides.