Rare, Strong Tornado Kills 6 In Southern Brazil

Aerial view of a town in southern Brazil destroyed
by a tornado in the past week. 

A powerful tornado this week virtually leveled a community in southern Brazil, killing at least six people and injuring around 750. 

Per CNN:

"Winds may have topped 250 km/hr (155 mph) in the ravaged town of Rio Bonito do Iguana, according to Simper, the state's meteorological service. The tornado affected approximately 90 percent of the residences and commercial buildings in the municipality, according to the state government."

A tornado with 155 mph winds is a rather high end EF-3 tornado, so it's a major one. 

The tornado and the city affected was in the southern Brazilian state of Paraña. The state's governor, Ratinho Jünior said the tornado was an "unprecedented catastrophe in the history" of the state.

This was among the worst tornadoes in Brazilian history, but twisters are fairly common there. Especially in the southern areas of the nation where this one hit. 

Estimates on the number of Brazilian tornadoes varies, but the best guess is they have 50 to 60 per year. Most of the twisters are relatively weak, but that's true in places that have frequent tornadoes, like the United States. 

Video:

Very good news report on the Brazil tornado from Al Jazeera. Click on this link to view or if you see the image below, click on that.