The coastal areas of Sao Paulo suffered the most damage in the past day, sections of the Rio-Santos, Mogi-Bertioga and Tamoios highways were blocked and hundreds of people lost their homes, the Brazilian news portal reported on Sunday.
Portal said that at least 36 people have died, 35 of them in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao. One of the victims is a 7-year-old girl.
According to Brazilian media reports, scores of houses have been completely destroyed by heavy streams of water and landslides; 228 people have been evacuated and 338 were left without homes.
Local authorities have declared a state of emergency in the region, Carnival celebrations were cancelled, and military helicopters have been dispatched to the disaster area.