YEREVAN, MAY 13, ARMENPRESS. The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state rose to 143, up from 136 on the day before, the local civil defense government body said on Sunday, Reuters reports.

Another 125 people remain unaccounted for in the state, where rivers are reporting rising levels.

On Saturday evening the government announced around 12.1 billion reais ($2.34 billion) in emergency spending to deal with the crisis that has displaced more than 538,000 people in the state, out of a population of around 10.9 million, the report adds.

More rain is expected on Monday.