Brazil suffers severe flooding leading to state of emergency in several states

Residents clean out their flooded homes in Itapetinga, Bahia state, Brazil (Raphael Muller/AP)

A total of 116 cities in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia are in a state of emergency because of flooding due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November.

Cities in at least five other states in Brazil’s north and south-east have also been flooded in recent days.