Storms that have been hitting Rio Grande do Sul since the weekend have left at least four confirmed deaths, according to reporting by Metrópoles. The victims were recorded in Caxias do Sul, Flores da Cunha, and Pelotas, the municipality with the largest number of people affected by the storms.
Among the dead are a 13-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, who were in a car swept away by floodwater, a 46-year-old man carried off by the current, and a 70-year-old motorcyclist struck by fallen power lines. Search efforts continue for the boy’s mother and her partner, both missing in Flores da Cunha.
According to Rio Grande do Sul’s Civil Defense, the storms — a mix of windstorms, heavy rain, hail, flooding, flash floods, and landslides — have already caused human or material damage in 137 municipalities. In a broader tally covering occurrences since last Friday (18), 146 cities have been affected and more than 527,000 people have felt the effects of the severe weather.
Caxias do Sul was one of the hardest-hit areas: on Monday (21) alone, the city recorded 159.4 millimeters of rain, a volume considered very high for such a short period. The state’s Civil Defense is also warning of flooding risks and rising streams and rivers, particularly in the Guaíba region.
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