Storms kill 2, damage over 1,600 homes in southern Brazil

Severe storms and hail killed at least two people and damaged more than 1,600 homes in Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the state Civil Defense reported Saturday.



The victims included an eight-year-old child killed by a falling tree in Porto Alegre in the east of the state, and a 72-year-old man whose vehicle was swept away by floodwaters in Arroio Grande in the south.



The storms hit 21 municipalities between Friday night and Saturday morning.



Tres Palmeiras in the north was the hardest-hit municipality, with about 1,000 homes damaged by hail.



In Quarai, near Brazil's western border with Uruguay, authorities declared a state of emergency after hail damaged 349 houses.



In the Serra Gaucha region in the northeast, hail damaged 197 homes in Canela, while residents and tourists in Canela and Gramado received a red alert from Civil Defense.