SAO PAULO— Sao Paulo state in northern Brazil has experienced flooding and landslides that have killed 36 people so far, according to officials, and that number may increase.

35 people perished in Sao Sebastiao, according to a statement from the state government of Sao Paulo, and a 7-year-old girl was killed in nearby Ubatuba.

Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela, and Bertioga, some of the hardest hit and currently in a state of calamity, cancelled their Carnival celebrations as rescue workers worked to locate the missing, injured, and people believed to be dead in the rubble.

Felipe Augusto, the mayor of Sao Sebastiao, said, "Our rescue teams are not managing to get to several locations; it is a chaotic situation." Later, he added that 50 houses in the city collapsed as a result of the landslides and that there are dozens of people still missing.

Several videos of the extensive damage in Augusto's city were shared on social media, one of which showed a baby being saved by residents gathered in a line on a flooded street.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, announced on Twitter that he would travel to the area on Monday.

The Sao Paulo state government reported that the area received more than 600 millimeters (23.6 inches) of precipitation in a single day, one of the highest totals ever recorded in Brazil for such a brief period.

According to the state government, Bertioga had 687 millimeters on its own during that time.

The army responded to a request from governor Tarcisio de Freitas for assistance by dispatching two aircraft and rescue crews to the area.

In the TV footage, only the roofs of flooded homes were visible. Small boats are being used by locals to transport people and objects to higher ground. Landslides and floodwaters blocked a road that connects Rio de Janeiro to the port city of Santos.

Rich tourists who prefer to avoid the chaotic street parties in big cities frequently travel to Sao Paulo state's northern coast during Carnival.