A tornado caused destruction in the city of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, in the interior of Paraná, this Friday (7). So far, at least five deaths have been confirmed and 130 people have been injured, according to the State Civil Defense.
The information that the meteorological phenomenon, which devastated the municipality of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, is a tornado was confirmed by Simepar (Paraná Environmental Technology and Monitoring System), which classified the occurrence late this Friday afternoon (7).
The agency points out that the tornado may have been preliminarily classified as index F2, which is equivalent to winds between 180 km/h and 250 km/h, but there is evidence that, in fact, in some parts of the city, it exceeded 250 km/h, which would change the classification to F3.
“An intense low atmospheric pressure system formed between Paraguay and the South of the country drove the movement of a cold front throughout the afternoon and evening of Friday, associated with the displacement of an extratropical cyclone from the continent to the ocean. Due to this combination of systems, several severe storms were recorded over the West, Southwest and Center-South regions of the state”, an excerpt from the statement from the Government of Paraná.
See images
“We will continue monitoring, analyzing photo images, aerial images, together with the Civil Defense, and if necessary we will be able to reclassify the intensity of the phenomenon, as it was extremely severe”, explains Reinaldo Kneib, meteorologist at Simepar.
Initial cyclone forecast
According to Climatempo, the cyclone is associated with a cold front and can generate wind gusts above 100 km/h in states such as Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. The forecast indicates that the phenomenon should move across the sea until Sunday (9), also affecting the coast of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.
Authorities ask the population to avoid open areas and pay attention to structures, trees and wiring, due to the risk of falls and accidents.
