Deadly floods hit Brazil's southernmost state

STORY: Heavy storms have killed over two dozen people in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul.

That's according to local authorities Thursday, as they reported many more missing.

The massive downpour destroyed bridges.

Residents waded through flooded streets, and saved whatever they could find from their homes.

The state's civil defense said more than 10,000 people were displaced in over 150 cities.

Many residents found refuge in shelters. Among them were Silvia Rodrigues Lima and her baby daughter.

“We don't know how our house will be, the things we put so much work into every day to build and buy. And now to arrive with nothing, we have lost everything.”

Rio Grande do Sul's governor declared the floods "the biggest disaster the state has ever faced"

While Brazilian President Lula da Silva vowed to provide as much aid as needed.

"The federal government will be 100% available to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, to the people of Rio Grande do Sul, so that we can respond with human material, with work, with efficiency and with the resources that I know will be necessary to repair the damage. Because, first and foremost, we have to save lives."

The floods are just the latest natural disaster to hit the area.

The state had already been battered by a tropical cyclone last September, when more than 30 people were killed.