Sergio Queiroz & Leonardo Benassatto

ITABUNA Brazil (Reuters – On Monday the death toll rose to 20, as floods ravaged northeast Brazil. The governor of Bahia State declared that it was the worst state disaster ever recorded. Meanwhile, rescuers hoped for rain and a rise in flooding.

Bahia has seen intermittent flooding in large parts for several weeks. This is after record-breaking droughts. After a couple of dams collapsed, flooding in certain areas grew rapidly and sent residents searching for better ground.

Small boats were used by rescue workers to patrol the area of Itabuna in southern Bahia. They pluck residents out their houses, some even escaping through windows on the second floor.

Rui Costa, Bahia Governor, stated on Twitter (NYSE : ) that 72 municipalities are in an emergency state.

He wrote, “Unfortunately we are living through the most devastating disaster in Bahia’s history.”

Bahia’s Firefighting Corps lieutenant-colonel Manfredo Santana told Reuters that 200 people had been rescued by emergency personnel in three towns nearby. Rescue efforts were complicated by the strong currents from Cachoeira River.

He said, “It is difficult to maneuver even on jet skis.” “Rescue crews had to retreat at times.”

Bahia’s civil defense agency stated Monday afternoon that twenty people died in eleven different municipalities.

Newspaper O Globo cited a state firefighting officer who said authorities were monitoring 10 additional dams in the area for signs of collapse.

Just two years ago, 270 people were killed by a collapsed mining dam in Minas Gerais. Now there is increased scrutiny over public infrastructure and urban planning.

Costa, Bahia Governor, stated that chaotic scenes were partly the result of “errors which have been made over the course a number of years.”