Since Friday, central and southern parts of Brazil have been exposed to wind speeds of up to 28 meters per second and up to 100 millimeters of rainfall, the country’s meteorological institute says.
In the state of São Paulo, seven people have lost their lives, mainly after being hit by trees that have fallen or blown over, the civil defense says.
Large parts of the state capital São Paulo, which is Brazil’s largest city, lost power during the storm. On Saturday afternoon, the electricity company Enel stated that around 1.6 million households and businesses were still without electricity.
In the capital Brasilia, one soldier lost his life and another was injured when a tree fell on them as they were taking down a flag in front of military police headquarters.
According to the media, the elected officials in the national ceremony had to use umbrellas indoors due to extensive leaks from the roof.
Although the large amounts of rainfall cause problems, many appreciate that it is finally raining after Brasilia has experienced a record-long drought – 165 days without rainfall.
The dry weather has contributed to a number of forest fires in the South American country.
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