Brazil flood death toll set at 109

ITAJAI, Brazil, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The death toll from flooding in southern Brazil was raised to 109 with the discovery of more victims in Santa Catarina state, officials said.

Authorities said nine more bodies were found Saturday, adding to a disaster that has seen more than 79,000 Brazilians left homeless and affected 1.5 million people, CNN reported.

"I've never seen anything like this," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said last week while surveying the damage in Santa Catarina, saying he would release $854 million in aid to the hardest-hit areas.

In addition to the human tragedy, the floods are also making an economic impact on Brazil due to the closing of the seaport in Itajai, which is costing Brazil's economy $33 million per day, CNN reported.

Itajai is the country's biggest terminal for frozen goods and its second-largest container port, Agencia Brasil said.