Violent Storms Batter Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Leaving Five Dead and Causing Chaos

A severe windstorm battered Rio de Janeiro and various areas within São Paulo state on Wednesday, leaving at least five people dead and causing widespread chaos. The intense gusts, reaching speeds of up to 125 km/h in some locations, prompted emergency responses due to the risk of further incidents.

The storm was particularly devastating in Rio de Janeiro, where two individuals died following a wall collapse in the Santa Teresa neighborhood. In São Paulo state, three other fatalities were reported: two people were struck by falling trees, and a fisherman drowned after his boat capsized. A fisherman remains missing in Tarituba, Costa Verde region, and one man is in critical condition in Mesquita after a roof was torn from a house and thrown into the street.

The sudden onset of the storm caught residents off guard, as the day had begun with warm, sunny weather. On Rio's famous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, winds whipped up sand, sent beach umbrellas and chairs flying, and forced swimmers to evacuate the coastlines quickly. "Chaos took over everything," described Paula Rubim, a 53-year-old building administrator, observing a blocked street and the suspended subway service.

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Chaos took over everything.

In Botafogo, two large trees fell on either side of a kiosk where Patrick Diego, 39, has worked for over two decades. "Luckily, they fell slowly and didn't hurt anyone," he said, noting only that the kiosk was displaced. Meanwhile, an intense and rare weather phenomenon, identified as a "supercell," caused a tornado in southern Brazil on Tuesday, damaging at least three municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul state. The Rio–Niterói bridge experienced temporary alternating traffic, and the Rebouças tunnel faced disruptions.

Public transportation in Rio suffered significant interruptions, affecting the subway, trains, VLT, ferries, and BRT services, though operations began to normalize later in the evening. Santos Dumont Airport experienced a power outage, halting operations for about two hours. Rio Galeão International Airport remained open, but five incoming flights were diverted to other cities due to the weather conditions. Two flights from Santos Dumont also landed at Galeão as alternatives.

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Luckily, they fell slowly and didn't hurt anyone.