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Storms affect more than 527,000 people in southern Brazil

A report released Tuesday morning (Sep. 22) by the Civil Defense stated that, since last Friday (18), 151 incidents related to strong winds and heavy rains have been recorded in 146 municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. In total, more than 527,000 people across the state have been affected by the weather events of the past few days, with 413 of them left homeless and 2,732 displaced. Notícias relacionadas:Devastation could disrupt world’s largest “rain machine:” the Amazon.The strong winds and rains also caused damage to 38 educational institutions and 17 health care facilities. The state Civil Defense agency confirmed the second death resulting from Monday’s (21) severe storm. The victim is a teenager who had been reported missing in the municipality of Caxias do Sul. The same municipality has reported three other people missing and recorded 159.4 millimeters of rainfall. The first confirmed death in the state was that of a motorcyclist struck by falling high-voltage power lines during the storm in the city of Pelotas. According to the local authorities, the weather event - characterized mainly by strong winds that reached 89 km/h - caused roofs to be torn off, trees and utility poles to fall, and power outages in various parts of the city.