MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Extratropical cyclone hits southern Brazil

In the entire state of Rio Grande do Sul, there are 234 people homeless and 236 displaced

Brazil's southeastern State of Río Grande do Sul remains under alert because of heavy rains, windstorms, and hail caused by the passage of an extratropical cyclone, Acting Governor Gabriel Souza said Thursday.

According to Agencia Brasil, 49 municipalities were affected statewide and 23 people were injured, 15 of them in the city of Sede Nova, where one victim was hospitalized. Eight others were in Tapejara. One death was recorded in the city of Rio Grande after a tree fell on a residence.

In the State's capital (Porto Alegre), the lack of light and the flooding of streets and avenues also caused traffic jams, even after the interruption of classes decreed on Wednesday afternoon as a precaution because of wind gusts.

According to Souza, the municipality of Sede Nova was the most affected by the effects of the extratropical cyclone and, therefore, the state government sent a truck with 100 hygiene kits and 100 food baskets to assist in humanitarian aid actions. “We intend, as soon as possible, to move from Porto Alegre and visit the municipality of Sede Nova, which was the hardest hit,” he said.

The damage to other public buildings is still being accounted for by the state, but the governor reinforced the request to the population to remain sheltered and follow the Civil Defense alerts.

Brazil's National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) Wednesday issued an alert over an extratropical cyclone due to an area of low continental pressure between northern Argentina and Paraguay.

”This system will set up over the continent today, intensifying the winds throughout the day over much of the South Region, with gusts that can exceed 80 kilometers per hour (km/h). In the coastal strip of Rio

Grande do Sul, the gusts should be even more intense, and may exceed 110 km / h in some points,” Inmet said.

The Institute also predicted daily accumulations of up to 100 millimeters of rain in some areas of the state. According to the institute, the winds should decrease in intensity from Thursday (13), when the extratropical cyclone should move to the Atlantic Ocean and lose strength.

This extratropical cyclone will be associated with a cold front that should advance across the country, causing low temperatures, not only in the South, but in areas of the Southeast and Midwest, and may even reach the south of the Amazon region.

Inmet's Jeane Lima explained that the last 24 hours ending on Thursday morning were the most critical. The passage of the cyclone caused windstorms with winds reaching 146.9 kilometers per hour in the city of Bom Jardim da Serra. Other cities such as Canguçu, Canela and Cambará do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul, and Joaçaba and Chapecó, in Santa Catarina, also recorded windstorms.

An increased volume of rainfall was also recorded in the region, with 115.4 mm (millimeters) in Bagé (RS) and 100.2 mm in Canguçu. According to Inmet, the cyclone has already moved to the Atlantic Ocean and is beginning to lose strength but the red alert was maintained for the eastern strip of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. In the eastern strip of São Paulo, there is an orange alert for windstorms and, on the coast of Rio de Janeiro, the orange alert is for coastal winds.

In the entire state of Rio Grande do Sul, there are 234 people homeless and 236 displaced. Five municipalities have registered requests for an emergency, which have not yet been made official.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)