Severe Storms Sweep Brazil After Heatwave as Rio Reports Surge in Heat Illness

Overview

• National weather services kept storm warnings active through Wednesday, with an Inmet notice covering more than 600 municipalities in Minas Gerais and a Cimehgo alert for 150 in Goiás.
• In São Paulo, evening downpours triggered citywide flood alerts, stranded residents in the Aricanduva area, and cut power to 56,239 customers across Greater São Paulo, with hail and strong gusts reported.
• Interior cities were hit hard: Ribeirão Preto saw a tree crush three cars with two people injured, Franca exceeded 80 mm of rain in two hours, and Campos do Jordão recorded flooding under a severe alert.
• Other regions logged rapid hazards, including 63 km/h wind damage and outages in Juiz de Fora (MG), treefall and flooding in Uberaba (MG), and hail with street flooding in Campo Grande (MS).
• In Rio, health authorities reported 2,493 heat-related attendances from Jan 9–12—about 30% above expected—while forecasters project a 3–4°C temperature drop on Jan 14–15.