Brazil flood chaos diminishes, but 265K still homeless and 42 dead

Brazil flood chaos eases, but 265K still homeless

SAO PAULO, Brazil — The chaos from epic flooding in northern Brazil has eased, with the number of homeless dropping from more than 300,000 to 265,000.

Officials say people have started heading back home in some of the 10 states affected by the floods — an affected area three times the size of Alaska. But the death toll rose by two to 42 because two people who went swimming drowned in a torrent.

Rain was still falling Tuesday in some parts of the zone stretching from the Amazon to normally dry northeastern Brazil. And officials are still trying to get aid to hard-hit areas.

The flooding is the worst in at least two decades. It was blamed on an Atlantic Ocean weather system that usually moves on in March but didn’t budge this year.