'I thank God that I'm alive', says resident injured after tornado passes through a city in RS

The passage of a tornado through Santo Augusto, in the Northwest Region of the state, in the early hours of Saturday (7), left a man injured. Self-employed worker Maurício Padilha Dias says he was sleeping and woke up to the noise of the phenomenon.

"I thank God that I'm alive, the important thing is that I'm alive, and the family is also alive. We're going to rebuild little by little, slowly", he says.

According to him, the strong wind destroyed one of the windows of the house, which ended up falling on him. The cut resulted in the man needing to be admitted to a local hospital.

"When I saw it, there was a violent bang, it broke the window and fell on top of me. The cut was very deep", says Dias, who received seven stitches in the head area.

The Civil Defense of Rio Grande do Sul confirmed this Saturday that the phenomenon that hit the city was a tornado. The force of the wind blew down around 100 houses.

This was the second tornado recorded in the state this week. The first had hit the cities of Erval Grande, Itatiba do Sul and Barra do Rio Azul, in the North of Rio Grande do Sul, on Wednesday morning (4). Since Monday (2), the Southern Region of Brazil has had six tornadoes: three in Santa Catarina, one in Paraná and two in RS.

Storms across the state

The morning was marked by storms with wind and hail, which left damage in cities in different regions of the state. There is a record of at least one other person injured. The second victim was a person who suffered minor injuries after a tree fell on the vehicle she was driving, in Bento Gonçalves, Serra.

Bento Gonçalves recorded damage to homes caused by large hailstones. In the early hours of the day, residents formed lines in front of the Fire Department headquarters to remove tarpaulins.

According to Bento Gonçalves City Hall, the incidents were recorded mainly in the northern part of the municipality. More than 500 services were carried out and, by early morning, more than 350 residents were looking for tarpaulins.

Also in Serra, the city of Caxias do Sul was hit and four homes suffered damage. In Canela, residents reported hail around 4am. The city hall reported that it received a call due to the wind. In the town of Tubiana, in the interior of the municipality, trees fell and a shed was roofed.

In São Borja, on the Western Border, heavy rain caused flooding, roofing and road blockages. The rise of the Uruguay River led to new departures of residents from areas affected by the floods. Families who had returned home just over a week ago had to leave their properties again.

The storms also hit cities in the north of Rio Grande do Sul. In Passo Fundo, it rained 80 millimeters in 24 hours. During the morning, flooding was recorded. Around 15 tarpaulin kits were delivered to residents and two bridges in the urban area had to be closed.

This week alone, Passo Fundo has already recorded more than 250 millimeters of precipitation. On Wednesday, the municipality had already recorded damage due to the severe weather, with more than six thousand people affected by flooding and roof damage.

In Palmeira das Missões, five homes were completely destroyed. The municipal Civil Defense is surveying the other houses that suffered damage, mainly to the roofs.

In Coxilha, rain accompanied by strong winds caused destruction to rural properties. According to the city hall, there was damage to the roofs of houses and warehouses on the border with Passo Fundo. Despite the damage, there were no injuries or homeless people in the municipality.

In Getúlio Vargas, the Abaúna River exceeded the flood level and caused flooding in the city center. During the morning, it rained more than 96 millimeters. The municipality also recorded hail and more than four thousand lightning strikes. According to Civil Defense, the river level has already started to drop.