Brazil: Tornado leaves at least six dead and more than 750 injured in Paraná

(AFP) At least six people were killed and 750 injured as a tornado ripped through a town in southern Brazil. Local authorities reported Saturday that the weather phenomenon left an unprecedented trail of destruction in the region.

The strong winds overturned cars and collapsed houses whole houses in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, a town of 14,000 inhabitants located in the state of Paraná, about 250 miles from the capital, Curitiba.

Firefighters and health services from several nearby municipalities have so far attended to 750 injured people, nine of them seriously.

Massive damage

Civil defense services estimate that about 80% of the city was destroyed. "It's a war scene," Colonel Fernando Schunig, director of Parana's civil defense, told website G1.

"The possibility of more victims is great. Unfortunately, that tornado hit the urban perimeter of the city and when those events occur in the urban part, really the damage is very big, it is very lethal," warned the official.

Paraná Governor Carlos Ratinho Junior said on X that "security forces are on alert, mobilized and monitoring the cities affected by the strong storms."

Residents told local media that the tornado came accompanied by storm surge, heavy wind and hail.

Humanitarian aid

Authorities erected a shelter in Laranjeiras do Sul, a town less than 12 miles away.

"Under the guidance of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, we are working on humanitarian aid plans, the sending of equipment and support for reconstruction actions," Integration and Regional Development Minister Waldez Góes announced on X.

The National Institute of Meteorology maintained a "storm danger" alert throughout Paraná for the weekend, as well as in the southern states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, bordering Argentina and Uruguay.

NOTE: This article has been updated to include the current number of victims.