Brazilian flood death toll rises

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BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) -- The death toll from devastating rains that have drenched Brazil for weeks has risen to 161 people, while 230,000 have been forced to leave their homes, the government said Friday.

At the beginning of this week the death toll stood at 119.

The growing damage from the rains prompted the government to release 339 million reais ($116 million) in disaster relief on Friday. National Integration Minister Ciro Gomes said the funds would be used to rebuild roads and houses.

Gomes said rain levels are likely to remain heavy. Since early January, Brazil has been hit by the heaviest rains in more than a decade, causing wide-scale damage in the poor north as well as the cities of the south. Gomes said 17 of Brazil's 26 states have been hit to one degree or another.

Towns have had mudslides, been cut off when bridges and roads collapsed or flooded by rivers that ran over their banks.

The government has also said the rains could bring epidemics and has moved to resupply medicine stocks.

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