Torrential rain dislodged tons of mud Monday outside a city in central Brazil, killing at least 32 people and burying makeshift hillside huts. Hundreds of rescuers searched for survivors.

Most of the deaths occurred in hillside shantytowns on the outskirts of the city of Recife, capital of the northeastern state of Pernambuco, according to the Recife Fire Department. The city is 1,700 miles northeast of Sao Paulo.

“Shacks precariously built on the hillsides were buried underneath tons of mud, killing entire families as they slept,” said Fernanda Santos, a Fire Department spokeswoman.

A week ago, at least 26 people were killed in a shantytown mudslide in Salvador, 1,210 miles northeast of Sao Paulo.