RIO DE JANEIRO, June 19, (AP): Heavy rains have killed at least two people in Brazil ’s southern region Rio Grande do Sul, the state’s civil defense agency said on Wednesday, just over a year after the region was hit by record-breaking floods. A 65-year-old man is also missing and more than 2,600 people have been forced to flee their homes, the agency added.

The rains have caused blackouts, landslides, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges across the state. Many of the areas affected were damaged during the floods in May last year, which killed more than 100 people and prompted promises to take measures to avoid a repeat of the dramatic events. "The state is better prepared,” Gov Eduardo Leite said Wednesday on X, pointing to strengthened response teams and investments in river dredging to reduce the risk of flooding.

Some regions have been hit by more than 350 millimetres (14 inches) of rain since the weekend, Leite said. The Brazilian army said late Wednesday in a statement that troops have been deployed in seven hard-hit cities of the Rio Grande do Sul state. One of the confirmed deaths is that of a 54-year-old woman in the municipality of Candelaria.

Her husband is missing. Preliminary reports indicate that the couple attempted to cross a flooded area in a vehicle in the and were swept away, the civil defense agency said. The agency advised people not to leave their homes, close windows and doors and remove electronic devices from sockets. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.