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A tornado accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain struck the southern Brazilian state of Parana, killing six people, the state government said on Saturday.
The town of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu was hit hardest late Friday, with the state's civil defence agency reporting that more than half of the urban area suffered roof collapses, along with multiple structural failures. Roads were blocked and power lines damaged.
Authorities said 437 people were treated for injuries and about 1,000 were displaced. The nearby city of Guarapuava was also affected.
Another view of the destroyed buildings in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, Brazil, following the tornado. (Parana State Government/Reuters)According to the Parana Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring System, the tornado's winds reached speeds between 180 km/h and 250 km/h.
Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann said she would travel to the area on Saturday with acting Health Minister Adriano Massuda and other federal officials to support relief efforts and reconstruction.
"We will continue to assist the people of Parana and provide all the help needed," President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote on social media platform X, expressing condolences to the victims' families.
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