Tornado Rips Through Southern Brazil, Killing Five and Injuring at Least 130

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – A powerful and destructive tornado tore through parts of a town in southern Brazil on Friday, leaving a trail of devastation that has claimed at least five lives and injured approximately 130 people, according to local authorities.

The violent twister, with winds reaching speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour), swept through the municipality of Rio Bonito do Iguacu in Parana state, overturning cars, uprooting trees, and causing significant damage to homes in the small community.

The deadly weather event, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP), has prompted a major emergency response, with security and rescue forces mobilized to deal with the aftermath of one of the most severe storms to hit the region in recent memory.

The Parana civil defense, in a statement to AFP, confirmed the grim toll: "Five deaths have already been confirmed as a result of the tornado." The local rescue agency provided further details on the scale of the injuries, stating, "Initial reports also indicate that there are 30 people with serious or moderate injuries, and around 100 with minor injuries."

The tornado struck the town of Rio Bonito do Iguacu, which has a population of around 14,000, with ferocious intensity.

According to Parana's environmental technology and monitoring system, the winds generated by the twister ranged from a powerful 180 to an extreme 250 kilometers per hour.

The local weather service reported a scene of widespread destruction, with the agency noting the presence of "fallen trees and even damage to masonry on homes," a clear indication of the storm's destructive force.

In the wake of the disaster, the governor of Parana, Ratinho Junior, took to the social media platform X to reassure the public that a comprehensive response was underway.

"Security forces are on alert, mobilized and monitoring the cities affected by the severe storms," he wrote, signaling a coordinated, state-level effort to manage the crisis and provide assistance to the victims.

The tornado in Rio Bonito do Iguacu appears to be part of a larger, more widespread system of severe weather affecting southern Brazil. Weather authorities have issued an alert for dangerous storms that remains in effect not only for the entirety of Parana state but also for the neighboring southern states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.

This broader alert suggests that communities across the region remain at risk, and emergency services are on high alert for the possibility of further destructive weather events in the coming hours and days.

As the residents of Rio Bonito do Iguacu begin to grapple with the immense loss of life and the daunting task of rebuilding their shattered community, the full extent of the storm's impact is still being assessed, and the human cost of this sudden and violent act of nature continues to be counted.