Farroupilha Tornado Confirmed; City Declares Emergency After Winds Top 100 km/h

Overview

• Rio Grande do Sul’s civil defense monitoring center confirmed the Farroupilha event as a tornado after aerial damage analysis showed debris thrown in multiple directions.
• The municipality issued an emergency decree citing destruction to homes, a municipal school, roads and bridges, and interruptions to essential services, with no fatalities reported.
• The Escola Municipal José Chesini was heavily damaged and roughly 15–20 homes were destelhadas in Vila Rica, while families sought shelter with relatives and received tarps and immediate assistance.
• Officials urged residents to avoid affected areas, not attempt unsupervised repairs, and watch for downed power lines as teams continue assessments and restore services.
• Elsewhere in the region, convective storms damaged buildings in Lages and Jaraguá do Sul, where a historic event space reported about R$350,000 in losses, and forecasts maintain risk of gusts near 100 km/h.