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LATIN AMERICA |
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Storms In Southern Brazil Cause us$22
Billion in Damage
RIO DE JANEIRO - The storms that have been
lashing southern Brazil in the past few
weeks have already caused 3.5 billion reais
(2 billion U.S. dollars) in damage, local
authorities said Friday.
Moreover, the bad weather has led to a total
of 11 deaths in the entire southern region.
On Friday, the authorities of 15
municipalities decided to declare a state of
emergency, raising the number of states
which have declared states of emergency due
to floods and mudslides among 496
municipalities to 81.
Over 20,000 people were forced to leave
their homes in the state of Rio Grande do
Sul, 5,000 of whom had nowhere to go and
were taken to temporary shelters set up in
gymnasiums and schools. In addition, 10,000
people from several areas in the state were
still without electricity, especially in the
state's southern region.
Rio Grande do Sul's Governor Yeda Crusius
said on Friday that the state government is
monitoring the situation carefully.
Earlier in the day, the governor visited the
towns of Tres Passos and Tres de Maio, the
latter of which was hit by a tornado on
Wednesday.
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