Death toll hits 180 in record floods in southern Brazil

SAO PAULO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 180 people have died from weeks of record flooding in southern Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state and 32 people remain missing, the civil defense agency said Wednesday.

Torrential rains began on April 29 and continued for days, inundating cities across the state. Rescue and recovery work started after the flooding began to subside in mid-June.

Severe weather has impact