Deadly bad weather.
Lightning killed a woman and seriously injured three members of her family on a beach in the state of Sao Paulo, in southeastern Brazil on Saturday January 20, authorities announced.
“Lightning struck between the water and the sand on the beach of Vila Caicara, in Praia Grande, causing four victims, all from the same family,” announced the civil defense of the state hit by heavy rains.
“One of them, a 60-year-old woman, died.
The others are in serious but stable condition,” she added.
Four other people were hit by lightning but not seriously, authorities said.
Also read: How to protect yourself from lightning if you are trapped by a storm
INMET, the Brazilian meteorological service, has placed several states in the south of the country on orange “danger” alert in the face of these bad weather.
Extreme weather phenomena in Brazil
In the state of Sao Paulo, three people died in the last 24 hours due to heavy rains and strong winds that caused landslides and floods in at least six municipalities, the official news agency Agência Brasil reported .
A man was killed when the vehicle he was in was swept away by floodwaters in the town of Sorocaba.
In Limeira, two women were rescued after being trapped under a car, but did not survive.
In the state of Rio Grande do Sul (south), a storm killed two people on Tuesday, January 16, Governor Eduardo Leite said on X on Saturday. Last week, intense rains and violent winds also caused two deaths in the state. city of Sao Paulo and thousands of residents were deprived of electricity for at least three days.
#WATCH: 📌Porto Alegre
Hurricane force wind in Porto Alegre.
The situation is chaotic.#Brazil #PortoAlegre #RioGrandedoSul #storm #tempestade #SantaMaria #Rain #Weather #emergency #Severeweather #damage pic.twitter.com/L65lzbnLXo
— mishikasingh (@mishika_singh) January 17, 2024
In Rio de Janeiro and its surrounding areas, the heavy rains which fell on Sunday January 14 caused 11 deaths, according to the latest report from firefighters.
Drone footage shows flooded streets and homes in Rio de Janeiro state after heavy rains buffeted towns last weekend and killed at least a dozen people, according to the state fire service https://t.co/h3Vc8bkdHk pic.twitter.com/GftAhTNZDn
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 16, 2024
Southern Brazil has faced extreme weather events in recent months, including torrential rains and a devastating cyclone that killed more than 50 people in September.
According to experts, these phenomena, due to climate change, tend to repeat themselves.