Officials in Brazil have put Sao Paulo on alert as heavy rains hit the mega-city on Wednesday, while in the state of Rio de Janeiro, the death toll from last week's landslides and flooding rose to 727. As rain fell on Sao Paulo, water rose above car windows in some areas of South America's biggest city, blocking major highways. The Sao Paulo mayor's office issued flood alerts for much of the city on Wednesday. One person died on Tuesday when her house collapsed amid heavy rain. In the towns north of Rio de Janeiro where the deadly landslides hit last week, a pause in rain allowed rescuers to increase delivery of supplies to isolated areas and recover bodies buried under the tons of earth and debris, pushing up the known death toll.
