6 dead, 750 injured after powerful tornado rips through southern Brazil

ISTANBUL

A powerful tornado struck Brazil’s southern state of Parana, killing at least six people and injuring more than 750 others, local authorities said Saturday.

Governor Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior said on US social media company X that a "state of public calamity" had been declared in the small city of Rio Bonito do Iguacu following the tornado, adding that authorities were on the ground providing full support to residents as they work to rebuild their lives.

According to the Parana Meteorological System (Simepar), wind speeds reached up to 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour), flattening homes, toppling silos and fuel stations, and damaging nearly 90% of the area’s residential and commercial buildings.

Aerial footage showed widespread devastation, with rooftops torn off and entire structures reduced to rubble.

According to CNN, officials confirmed that three men, aged 49, 57, and 83, and two women, aged 47 and 14, were among those killed in Rio Bonito do Iguacu. Another man, aged 53, died in the nearby city of Guarapuava. One person remains missing.

Rescue teams continue to search through the debris, with officials warning that the death toll may rise as more information is received from families. Authorities are also working to assess the number of people displaced or left homeless.

Meteorologists said the tornado formed as part of a larger weather system associated with a cold front moving through southern Brazil.