Rio de Janeiro/Florianopolis, Brazil - The deaths of at least 97 people and the evacuations of close to 80,000 have not been the only tragic consequences of heavy rain in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.

In the wake of the natural catastrophe, residents were Thursday living in fear of epidemics and looting, with huge queues to get water and food.

The streets of the worst-affected towns became the stage for chaos. In the town of Itajai, where 80 per cent of the homes were damaged by the rain, at least 24 people were arrested following looting at a supermarket.

Santa Catarina military police captain Rogerio Teutonio da Silva said that more than 2,000 people took part in the effort to loot the supermarket. Most of them took foodstuffs, and officers only proceeded to arrest those who tried to take advantage of the situation to steal things like refrigerators and television sets.

In such a context, some were fearing a "social outburst."

"Those who need donations and hear that there is a wave of looting may be encouraged to join in. That generates insecurity. There are people who are already afraid to leave their homes, and many could try to take justice in their own hands," said police commissioner Mauricio Eskudlark.

Indeed, in Blumenau - another town that was seriously affected by the rain, residents whose homes were not destroyed by the storm were taking turns to their homes and property, for fear of looters.

"We have bought a fridge and we are still paying for it. It is one of the few things that we have," said Luis Carlos Luciano, in comments that Brazilian media published Thursday.

For those who lost everything to the rain, gaining access to the food and water which the authorities have sent to the area has turned into a nightmare: the queues can take up to six hours, and in some cases there are not enough goods to go round all those who need them.

According to a feature that the daily O Estado de Sao Paulo published Thursday, the distribution of food to evacuees in Itajai was called off at 3 pm Wednesday, when hundreds of people were still awaiting their turn.

"There is no estimate as to when the next trucks may arrive," said Fire Department captain Renaldo Laureano.

As the rain decreases and the level of flooding starts to go down, Santa Catarina authorities divide their efforts between looking for at least 19 people who remained missing, rescuing others who have been isolated by the water and putting in place preventive measures against epidemics.

State health authorities promised to hand out among the population information on the way to avoid intestinal infections and illnesses like hepatitis.

"We are handing the population boots, gloves, cleaning material, to avoid outbursts of infections," said Health Ministry epidemiology director Luis Antonio Silva.

Preventive measures were also set to include warnings on the risks of taking contaminated food and water, as well as handouts of antibiotics. dpa