Death toll in Brazil floods rises to 32, more than 50,000 forced to leave their homes

Aerial view of Santa Leopoldina municipality, flooded after heavy rains, in Espirito Santo state, Brazil, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013. Civil defense officials say the death toll in the floods and mudslides caused by heavy downpours in two states in southeastern Brazil has risen. More than 50,000 have been forced to leave their homes. (AP Photo/Vitor Jubino-A Gazeta) **BRAZIL OUT** (The Associated Press)

People collect discarded food drenched in mud and rain, outside a supermarket in the Itaguacu municipality, Espirito Santo state, Brazil, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013. Civil defense officials say the death toll in the floods and mudslides caused by heavy downpours in two states in southeastern Brazil has risen. More than 50,000 have been forced to leave their homes. (AP Photo/Vitor Jubino-A Gazeta) **BRAZIL OUT** (The Associated Press)

Aerial view of Santa Leopoldina municipality, flooded after heavy rains, in Espirito Santo state, Brazil, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013. Civil defense officials say the death toll in the floods and mudslides caused by heavy downpours in two states in southeastern Brazil has risen. More than 50,000 have been forced to leave their homes. (AP Photo/Vitor Jubino-A Gazeta) **BRAZIL OUT** (The Associated Press)

Civil defense officials say the death toll in the floods and mudslides caused by heavy downpours in two states in southeastern Brazil has risen to 32. More than 50,000 have been forced to leave their homes.

The civil defense department of Minas Gerais state Wednesday says on its website that 17 people died there in floodwaters or mudslides. It says about 4,000 people were forced to seek shelter in public buildings or in the homes of friends and relatives.

In neighboring Espirito Santo state the civil defense department says on its website that 15 people were killed there and close to 50,000 people were forced from their homes by mudslides and rivers overflowing their banks.