Cyclone leaves 13 dead, thousands displaced in Brazil
In Pictures At least 13 people have been killed in Brazils Rio Grande do Sul after an extra-tropical cyclone struck the region. At least 13 people have been killed and thousands forced from their homes after a cyclone tore through southern Brazil. Torrential rain and strong winds on Thursday and Friday caused damage in dozens of towns in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, including its capital Porto Alegre, the latest in a string of weather-related disasters to hit South Americas biggest country. A four-month-old baby was among those dead, according to local media, which broadcast footage of a car being swept into a cemetery by powerful winds. The water came up to our waist inside the house. Thank God, the firemen arrived quickly and got us out on boats. It seemed like a nightmare, a woman, who did not give her name, told the newspaper Estadao in the town of Sao Leopoldo. Nearly 5,000 people were left with damaged houses and on Sunday about 84,000 people were without power. In Sao Leopoldo, about half-an-hour drive from Porto Alegre, 246mm (9.7 inches) of rain fell in 18 hours, a level never seen before in the history of the city of 240,000 inhabitants, stressed Porto Alegre Mayor Ary Jose Vanazzi. On Sunday, streets in the towns of Novo Hamburgo, Lindolfo Collor and Sao Leopoldo were still flooded. As the rain stopped, soldiers were able to carry out rescue operations in Novo Hamburgo. Further rainfall and cold temperatures are expected in the middle of next week, however, potentially further exacerbating the situation for those already affected. Brazil has been hit by a series of deadly weather disasters in recent years, which experts say are being made worse by climate change. At least 65 people died in February when torrential rain triggered floods and landslides in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo. Officials said electricity had been restored in many villages but hundreds more were still without power. Thousands without power as the severe cyclone makes landfall and heavy rains lash both the Indian and Pakistani coasts. US climate agency says phenomenon, which leads to warmer temperatures, is back after three years. Latest storm across California come after months of heavy rain and snowfall that battered the western US state.