RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Search and rescue officials found nine bodies Saturday, bringing the death toll from flooding in southern Brazil to 109, the state news agency said.
Officials say 19 people remain missing.
Nearly 79,000 residents have been left homeless, said the state-run Agencia Brasil.
The state of Santa Catarina has been hardest-hit, and the government has declared 14 cities disaster areas, the news agency said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva surveyed some of the flooded areas from the air this week and proclaimed the disaster one of the worst in the country's history.
"I've never seen anything like this," Lula said Thursday.
He said he was releasing $1.97 billion reais ($854 million U.S. dollars) in aid to the afflicted areas, most notably to Santa Catarina.
About 1.5 million people -- one-fourth of the population -- have been affected.
The tragedy also is having an economic effect, with bridges, roads, houses and buildings destroyed. The federation of industries said the closing of the port in the Santa Catarina city of Itajai is costing $33 million a day.
The port is the major terminal for frozen goods in Brazil and second in the transport of containers, Agencia Brasil said.
Port Superintendent Arnaldo Schmitt said that part of the terminal could be in operation in two weeks.
Journalist Fabiana Frayssinet contributed to this report.
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