Mudslides in Brazil kill 8 people

Heavy rains caused mudslides that killed at least eight people in Rio de Janeiro state Monday, raising the number of dead in Rio and neighboring Minas Gerais state to 23 so far this year, civil defense officials said, the ABC news reports.

Up to 20 other people are still missing, according to Rio state's civil defense department. Local authorities are still compiling a list of the disappeared.

Last week, torrential rain burst a dam, leading to the evacuation of 4,000 residents of the town of Tres Vendas. Elsewhere in the state, another 4,000 people were forced from their houses and three people were killed by heavy rains and mudslides, the Washington Post reports. 

In the neighboring state of Minas Gerais, more than 10,000 people have left their homes, and 12 have died in floodwaters or mudslides, according to the state’s civil defense department, the source says.