Flooding From Cyclone in Southern Brazil Kills at Least 22

A cyclone battered southern Brazil early this week, killing not less than 22 individuals, displacing 3,000 others and prompting the federal authorities to dispatch helicopters for rescues, the authorities stated late Tuesday.

Since Sunday, the storm has introduced sturdy winds and floods to the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, submerging dozens of cities, in accordance with the Ministry of Social Development. More than a dozen fatalities have been reported in a single city.

More rainfall was on the best way, and a few areas might get greater than 11 inches of rain this week, Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology stated. Authorities additionally warned of additional flooding close to three rivers within the area.

The storm, which forecasters described as an extratropical cyclone, additionally spawned a twister and winds exceeding 62 miles per hour in Santa Catarina, the state’s Civil Defense stated on Tuesday.

Damage from the storm was reported in 67 municipalities throughout Rio Grande do Sul, the place roofs have been stripped off of greater than 300 homes and bridges collapsed, the state authorities stated in a assertion. Of the victims, 15 have been in Muçum, a small city, the place homes and roads have been submerged, it stated.

“We are dismayed by the lethality of this weather event and mobilized to save all those still in danger,” Gov. Eduardo Leite of Rio Grande do Sul stated on social media.

Rescuers continued to seek for individuals stranded in flooded areas in a single day because the police and army deployed plane, helicopters and boats, the state authorities stated.

“Night has arrived, the temperature has dropped and there are people waiting for help in the open air,” Mr. Leite stated. One sufferer, he stated, was a lady who died whereas being rescued on the Taquari River. She and her rescuer fell, and the officer was severely injured.

The Civil Defense in Rio Grande do Sul has issued a number of flood and landslide warnings all through the state this week. Flood warnings remained in place on Wednesday close to the Taquari River, the Das Antas River and the Caí River, which course by way of cities and mountains in southern Brazil.

Rio Grande do Sul was slammed by one other cyclone in June that killed not less than 11 individuals.

Daphné Anglès contributed translation.