RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A tornado hit the state of Santa Catarina on Friday, August 14th, and left a trail of destruction in at least six municipalities. According to preliminary information from the Civil Defense, there are 16 injured, 830 people displaced and 115 homeless.
According to the Civil Defense, 4,245 housing units were affected, as well as 65 private and 40 other public facilities. Over five percent of the consumer units were without electricity.
In Água Doce, 700 properties had their roofs blown off by the wind and another 25 houses were destroyed. Images show fallen trees on roads and cars, overturned trucks and the city center destroyed, with many exposed wires, broken store windows and rubble. In the city, eleven people were injured, two of them in critical condition.
In Catanduvas, the roofs of 235 houses were blown off and two others were destroyed. In Ibicaré, two churches and two pavilions were damaged by the tornado, which affected three communities in the interior.
The municipality of Tangará was heavily affected and 90 percent of homes were damaged. In all neighborhoods roofs were blown off, including in business establishments. In Vargem Bonita, the same destruction occurred in some 1,300 houses.
The rainfall was heavy in the region and new storms were expected over the weekend. The west of the state was the hardest hit. In Santa Rosa de Lima, it rained 71 millimeters in five hours. In Petrolândia, it was another 66 millimeters between 9 PM on Friday and 2 PM on Saturday.
The Civil Defense is collecting donation items for humanitarian aid to the displaced.