Mudslides, floods kill at least 18 outside Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Authorities in Brazil say extremely heavy rains have caused mudslides and floods in a mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state that killed at least 18 people. There are widespread concerns that the death toll could surge as teams search areas damaged Tuesday in the Petropolis region, which saw hundreds of deaths from heavy rainfall in 2011. Rio state’s firefighter department says more than 180 soldiers are working in the hard-hit area. The department says the area got 25.8 centimeters (just over 10 inches) of rain within three hours during the day. That is almost as much as during the previous 30 days combined.. Footage posted on social media shows cars and houses being dragged away by landslides and water swirling through the city of Petropolis and neighboring districts.