At least 33 people are still missing after floods and mudslides caused widespread damage and killed 179 people, the civil protection agency in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul said on Monday.

The unprecedented storm, which began on 29 April, affected more than 2.39 million Brazilians and more than 450,000 people were evacuated at the height of the disaster, the agency said.

After the floodwaters receded in mid-June, rescue and recovery efforts began, particularly in Porto Alegre, which was hit again by flooding over the weekend after the Guaiba River overflowed its banks.