Brazil begins reconstruction after rare tornado devastates southern town

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (EFE).- Authorities in Brazil began rebuilding the town of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu on Sunday, two days after a rare tornado struck, killing six people and injuring 835, including 32 who remain hospitalized.

The tornado, which hit on Friday, destroyed approximately 90% of the town’s buildings and left thousands of people affected across the region.

Mayor Sezar Augusto Bovino stated that search and rescue efforts were completed, and no residents were reported missing.

“Everything is on the ground, but we have already gone through the hardest part, and now it is time for reconstruction,” Bovino said.

The tornado, with wind speeds reaching up to 250 km/h (approximately 155 mph) accompanied by hail, tore through the town of about 13,500 residents in less than two minutes.

According to Civil Defense authorities, the storm damaged 704 buildings, toppled utility poles and trees, and overturned vehicles.

Across 14 municipalities in the state of Paraná, about 13,000 people were affected, and roughly 1,000 were left homeless. Many are currently sheltered in schools and churches in the nearby city of Laranjeiras do Sul.

Infrastructure and emergency measures

The Paraná state government reported that electricity has been restored for about half of the affected population, and work continues to normalize water and internet services.

Engineers from state and federal agencies are assessing structures to determine which must be demolished and rebuilt.

“We are starting the reconstruction of schools and health centers, which do not depend on the list of affected households,” said the state’s Public Security Secretary, Hugson Teixeira.

Financial support for families

Paraná Governor Ratinho Junior announced the deployment of additional personnel and equipment to assist rebuilding efforts and proposed legislation to allow direct financial aid to affected families.

“The idea is to provide 50,000 reais (about 9,380 dollars) to each homeowner who lost their house so they can rebuild it,” the governor said.

He added that temporary housing will be built for displaced families until reconstruction is complete.

Regional Civil Defense coordinator Col. Fernando Schunig said cleanup teams were working with around 30 heavy vehicles to clear debris.

“The priority is to finish cleaning the city, assess losses, and deliver financial aid as soon as possible so families can rebuild their homes,” he said.

The tornado formed within an extratropical cyclone that moved across southern and southeastern Brazil just days before the start of COP30 climate talks in Belém, where global adaptation measures to increasingly frequent extreme weather events are expected to be discussed. EFE

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