Strong gales linked to a cold front left five fatalities, triggered power outages, and severely disrupted public, maritime, and air transport in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

In São Paulo, gusts exceeding 120 km/h claimed three lives: a man died in the port city of Santos and another in Sorocaba after trees fell onto vehicles, while a fisherman perished when his boat capsized off São Sebastião. The extreme weather forced a temporary halt to operations at the port of Santos – Latin America’s largest – as well as passenger ferry services.

Across Rio de Janeiro state, two additional deaths occurred when a wall collapsed in the Santa Teresa district, in the centre of the state capital. 

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The gales cut electricity across multiple neighbourhoods, partially disrupted the metro, and hit Santos Dumont airport; Galeão international airport recorded gusts of 74.1 km/h, diverting four flights and triggering operational delays. 

Meanwhile, firefighters attended 30 tree-fall incidents, 26 rescues, and four structural collapses.

The weather system had first struck Rio Grande do Sul on Tuesday night, where it left five injured and forced 149 people to evacuate before moving into the country’s more heavily populated industrial heartland. Rio de Janeiro’s weather alert system warned that gusts could reach 90 km/h between Wednesday and Thursday. São Paulo’s government has kept its crisis cabinet active as the storm is forecast to persist until Thursday, bringing intense rain, thunderstorms, and hail, with rising flood risks. 

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