My heart is broken... We will be sure to help the cities

President Cardoso

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso visited the parts hardest hit by the Christmas Eve mudslides, including the mountain town of Petropolis, and said he was heartbroken at the deaths and destruction.

His government has promised extra funds for the area, which is regularly devastated by torrential summer rains.

Dozens of people are still missing, and feared dead under the mud, and about 1,800 have been left homeless.

Red tape delay

The deluge, which began on Sunday night, triggered mudslides that swept away scores of flimsy shacks built on steep slopes.

Hundreds of families are living in temporary shelters

The worst-hit area is Petropolis, outside Rio de Janeiro, where 41 people have died and which has been virtually cut off by the disaster.

Mr Cardoso called the situation there a calamity.

"My heart is broken... We will be sure to help the cities. We cannot do anything for those who have died. And that is exactly what pains me," he said before returning to Brasilia.

However, the minister in charge said the release of the extra money promised to the local authorities will be delayed for another month because of red tape.

Hundreds of rescuers have been struggling for days to find people buried beneath tonnes of mud and rubble.

'Always the same'

The state governor, Anthony Garotinho, has criticised local officials for allowing people to build homes in high-risk areas.

At least 167 people were killed in 1988 when mudslides swept through the Petropolis.

Mr Garotinho said many of the shanty town dwellers knew the risks they faced.

But many residents said they were warned of the dangers but had nowhere else to go.

"It's always the same, as soon as it rains everything floods and our children have to walk among snakes and rats," one flood victim said. "We want a solution."