Cyclone Slams Southern Brazil, Leaving Three Dead and Crippling Transport

Overview

• Santa Catarina confirmed the deaths of a couple and their 5‑month‑old after a car was swept away in Palhoça, as six‑hour rainfall totals topped 146 mm in parts of the state.
• In São Paulo, a bus drivers’ strike combined with a strong storm produced the year’s worst congestion at 1,486 km, disrupted travel for about 3.3 million people, and cut power to roughly 100,000 Enel customers.
• Authorities reported tornado damage in Flores da Cunha, Rio Grande do Sul, with roofs torn and emergency supplies deployed, and they cautioned that coastal gusts near 100 km/h and rough seas remain likely.
• Road incidents piled up: a cotton‑laden truck fire fully closed the Anchieta in Cubatão with no injuries, a rear‑end crash on BR‑251 during a brake repair injured two, and a truck driver in Barra Mansa died after a medical emergency, according to the PRF.
• A fatal frontal collision in Ilhota, SC, occurred when a ladder on a service vehicle penetrated a truck cab, while heavy rain in Acre felled trees, blocked a bridge in Rio Branco, and temporarily diverted a flight from Cruzeiro do Sul.