SAO PAULO, Brazil - Two months of heavy rains have killed 64 people in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo and flooded several areas in its huge city of the same name, officials and media reported Thursday.

The near-constant precipitation has filled to capacity two of the six dams supplying the city, requiring the release of millions of gallons (litres) of water, according to Sao Paulo's sanitation authority.

The two big rivers cutting through Sao Paulo, the Pinheiros and the Tiete, also broke their banks in parts, blocking adjacent freeways.

Most of the deaths were in the megapolis of Sao Paulo itself - Latin America's biggest city, with a population of 20 million.

Many of the fatalities were the result of mudslides or building collapses, according to the state civil defense service.

The deaths in Sao Paulo state added to scores of others in the neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro in late December and early January, including 28 killed on New Year's Day when a luxury beachside hotel was hit by a landslide.