More than a thousand people have been forced to leave their homes and about 32,000 families in Pernambuco are estimated to live in areas at risk of landslides or floods, according to authorities.
Several people have also been confirmed dead in the neighboring state of Alagoas.
Emergencies have been declared in several parts of the state.
President Jair Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter that rescue workers and the military had been sent to the affected states to help.
In Recife, schools have been opened to receive people forced to leave their homes.