Tornado kills six, injures hundreds as it destroys southern Brazil town

A tornado killed at least six people and injured about 750 as it destroyed most of a town in southern Brazil. The twister flipped cars like toys and wrecked buildings in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, a town of 14,000 people in Parana state, officials said. Photo / Daniel Castellano, AFP

A tornado killed at least six people and injured about 750 as it destroyed most of a town in southern Brazil, authorities said.

The twister on Friday evening (local time) flipped cars like toys and wrecked buildings in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, a town of 14,000 people in Parana state, officials said.

The storm lasted only minutes but hit with ferocious winds swirling at up to 250km/h. Aerial photos showed the town largely obliterated, with wrecked buildings and debris everywhere.

On Saturday (local time), traumatised residents sifted through the rubble of their homes as they tried to salvage some belongings.

Nereu Sabadini was working outside of town when the tornado hit.

“I arrived home and found myself without a roof over my head,” the 51-year-old told AFP. “I’m homeless and rebuilding will take some time.”

Authorities said 90% of the town suffered damage.

“It destroyed everything. It destroyed the town, houses, schools. What will become of us?” Roselei Dalcandon said as she stood by a pile of rubble that used to be her shop.

The tornado killed at least six people, the Parana state government said. Firefighters and medical personnel treated 750 injured people, including nine who were seriously hurt.

One person was missing but the number could rise as rescue efforts continue.

Rescue teams searched through piles of rubble looking for survivors or bodies. A shelter was set up in a nearby town.

“It is a war scene,” Fernando Schunig, head of the Parana Civil Defence agency, told the news outlet G1.

He said the likelihood of more fatalities is high because the twister hit the centre of the town.

“When these events hit an urban area, the damage is major. It is very lethal,” Schunig said.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said a team of ministers and disaster relief experts were headed to the town, as he expressed “solidarity” with those affected.

An alert for dangerous storms was in effect for all of Parana as well as Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, according to weather authorities.

Other cities in Parana and neighbouring states were also hit by strong winds, storms and hail from a violent weather pattern sweeping through the region.

Last year, southern Brazil suffered severe flooding that left more than 200 people dead and two million displaced in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

It was one of the worst natural disasters in the recent history of Brazil and experts say global warming played a role in the floods.

– Agence France-Presse