Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (CNN) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met Tuesday with his emergency Cabinet as flooding in two northeastern states killed at least 42 people and left more than 115,000 homeless or displaced, the Agencia Brasil state news agency and civil defense officials reported.
In Pernambuco state, 53 cities have declared a state of emergency, the nation's civil defense agency said. Thirteen people are dead and more than 42,000 are homeless there, the agency said.
In Alagoas state, 22 cities have declared an emergency. At least 29 people are dead, officials said. More than 73,000 residents are homeless or displaced, the national civil defense said.
More than 600 people have been reported missing in Alagoas.
Defense Minister Nelson Jobim traveled to Alagoas and Pernambuco to see the emergency measures that have been taken, Agencia Brasil said. Those measures include the construction of field hospitals.
