Brazil rescuers end search after storms that killed 128

• Days of torrential rain triggered flash floods and landslides in Pernambuco state.
• Death toll rises to 128 after the body of a woman is found.
• Three days of official mourning will be held for the victims.

After locating the body of the final person reported missing, emergency workers in Brazil called off their search for victims of fatal floods and landslides that struck the country’s northeast on Friday, raising the death toll to 128, officials said.

Days of torrential rain late last month in the region around Recife, the capital of Pernambuco state, triggered flash floods and violent landslides that wiped out virtually everything in their path.

The last body, that of a woman buried beneath a landslide in the city of Camaragibe, just outside Recife, was recovered Friday morning, officials said.

Read more: Brazil storm death toll rises to 100: officials

“We have ended the search for the missing. I want to send my condolences and solidarity to the families of the 128 victims,” Governor Paulo Camara said in a statement.

He said the state would hold three days of official mourning for the victims, 32 of whom were children.

The state government announced it would also pay emergency aid of 1,500 reais (around $315) each to 82,000 families that lost their homes or property in the disaster.

Brazil has been hit by a series of deadly storms in recent months that experts say are being made worse by climate change.

Poor communities — especially hillside “favelas,” or slums — are typically hit hardest.

In February, 233 people were killed in floods and landslides in the historic southeastern city of Petropolis, in Rio de Janeiro state.

In January, severe rains in southeastern Brazil killed at least 28 people, largely in the state of Sao Paulo.

Read more: Brazil faces severe flooding and landslides; atleast 30 dead