**At least eight people have been killed after torrential rain flooded several neighbourhoods of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, officials have said.**Mayor Eduardo da Costa Paes has closed all schools and urged workers to stay at home as most main roads are flooded and traffic is gridlocked.
Thousands of motorists were stranded in their cars overnight as more than 7cm (3in) of rain fell in 14 hours.
Flooding elsewhere in Rio de Janeiro state left at least two people dead.
In an interview with TV Globo on Tuesday morning, Mr Paes said the situation on Rio de Janeiro’s streets was “absolute chaos”.
“All the important roads are blocked,” he said, adding that trying to traverse the flooding posed an “enormous risk”.
Santos Dumont airport, which handles domestic flights, was closed for two hours on Monday night, causing a number of delays.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.