Florianopolis, Brazil  - The death toll from heavy rains in southern Brazil reached 112 by the end of the week, as fears grew of possible health epidemics among more than 1 million people affected by the storms.

The epidemiology division of Santa Catarina province said it was monitoring at least 10 suspected cases of leptosirosis, a bacterial disease transmitted from rodents via unclean drinking water or pets. It said other illnesses such as hepatitis and tetanus are also common during flooding crises.

Provincial authorities said an estimated 80,000 people were forced to flee their homes due to flooding. Weather reports showed the rains would likely continue with the arrival of a new cold front into the area.

Rio de Janeiro  - At least 110 people have died in flooding and subsequent landslides in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, the state news agency said Saturday.

An estimated 80,000 have been evacuated from the area, in one of the worst weather-related catastrophes to hit the South American country in decades.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who freed up more than 850 million dollars for reconstruction and support for the victims, said the disaster was the worst he had ever seen in the country, as he flew by helicopter over the towns that were devastated, state-run Agencia Brasil reported.

Rio de Janeiro  - The rains that devastated 30 towns in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina could be an early consequence of global warming, a climatologist from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said Friday.

At least 99 people died and 80,000 had to be evacuated because of the rains and subsequent flooding. Santa Catarina was hit by a hurricane in 2004 and is frequently affected by tornadoes.

Climatologist Carlos Nobre told Globo TV that heavy, persistent rains in southern Brazil usually coincide with the climate phenomenon known as El Nino, which warms up the Pacific Ocean. However, this was not the case this year.

Rio de Janeiro  - On the Avenida Atlantica, the magnificent avenue on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, minors offer sex for just a few dollars.

Participants at the third World Congress Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children (ECPAT), which ended Friday in the Brazilian city, could witness the extent of the problem almost first-hand.

Near Rio's poshest hotels, girls and boys seek out clients even in the presence of police. "Poverty feeds the sexual exploitation of children," said federal police superintendent Ismar Ferreira.

Rio de Janeiro/Florianopolis, Brazil - The deaths of at least 97 people and the evacuations of close to 80,000 have not been the only tragic consequences of heavy rain in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.

In the wake of the natural catastrophe, residents were Thursday living in fear of epidemics and looting, with huge queues to get water and food.

The streets of the worst-affected towns became the stage for chaos. In the town of Itajai, where 80 per cent of the homes were damaged by the rain, at least 24 people were arrested following looting at a supermarket.

Rio de Janei