At least 39 people have died and nine remain missing after a cyclone battered Brazil’s southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul, flooding homes and swelling rivers, local authorities said on Thursday.
All those not yet accounted for are from the small town of Mucum, one of the hardest hit by the floods, where 14 deaths have been reported. Nearby cities such as Roca Sales and Cruzeiro do Sul also registered multiple casualties.
Governor Eduardo Leite declared a state of public calamity and canceled statewide parades meant to celebrate Brazil’s Independence Day on Thursday.
“We’ve mobilized to rescue the victims and rebuild everything that was destroyed by the storm,” Leite wrote on social media network X.
According to the Rio Grande do Sul government, heavy rains caused by the extratropical cyclone have affected 80 cities and left more than 2,300 people homeless and over 3,900 displaced.
In addition to the 39 fatalities in Rio Grande do Sul, one person died in neighboring Santa Catarina state while driving through the city of Jupia when a tree fell on their car. Winds there exceeded 110 km per hour (68.4 miles per hour).
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who will travel to India for the G20 summit later in the day, said the federal government would fully support the region and put Vice President Geraldo Alckmin “on standby” to travel there.