At least five people lost their lives and more than 430 were injurednine of them in serious condition, after the passage of a strong tornado that hit several towns in the state of Paraná, in the south of Brazilborder with Paraguay. According to the Civil Defense this Saturday, the winds, which reached speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hourcaused widespread devastation.
The localities Most affected were Río Bonito do Iguaçuwhere four of the deaths were confirmed, and Guarapuava, with one more fatality. In total, 14 municipalities declared a state of emergency due to the damage suffered.
According to the authorities, the phenomenon, accompanied by intense rains, hail and violent gusts, destroyed about 80% of the homes in Río Bonito do Iguaçua city of about 13,500 inhabitants. The strong winds ripped off roofs, toppled trees and left thousands of families without electricity or drinking water.
“Between 80% and 90% of the city was collapsed. We still do not have the exact number of people who are unsheltered,” declared the Secretary of Public Security of ParanáColonel Hudson Leoncio Teixeira.
From the information we have so far, the devastating effects of the tornado caused that in the early hours of this Saturday some 3,000 homes they would remain without basic services.
🇧🇷 Tornado hits the municipality of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu (PR) and leaves a trail of destruction
On the afternoon of this Friday (07/11/2025), a strong weather phenomenon with tornado characteristics hit the municipality of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, in the southwest of Paraná.
Reports from residents… pic.twitter.com/akIftB9427
— Midiagem 🦅 (@Midiagem_) November 8, 2025
Given the magnitude of the disaster, the state government installed a field hospital to meet the high medical demand and does not rule out that the number of victims will increase. “Our teams said they found a war scenario. We have firefighters from several regions of Paraná carrying out search and rescue tasks for victims. Our priority is to save people who have not yet been located,” said the Deputy Commander of the Fire DepartmentJonas Emmanuel Benghi Pinto.
Meteorological service specialists confirmed that the disaster was caused by a tornado formed within a supercell, a type of severe storm characterized by its long duration and a rotating updraft.
“The Civil Defense and our security forces are on alert, mobilized and attending to the cities affected by the strong storms,” he declared on social networks. the governor Ratinho Juniorwho announced that he would travel to the affected area later in the day.
🚨 I declared a state of public calamity in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu after the tornado that hit around 90% of the city’s homes and businesses. Teams are already mobilized to help families and provide all necessary assistance.https://t.co/pIEP1AJAzk
— @ratinho_jr (@ratinho_jr) November 8, 2025
Meanwhile, the neighboring states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina also remain in state of emergency before the passage of an extratropical cyclone moving north. In São Paulo, the most populated in the country, the authorities issued preventive alerts for several municipalities due to the possibility of the phenomenon reaching their territory this weekend.
These warnings occur only two days before the start in Belémcapital of the Amazonian state of Pará, of the COP30 Climate Conferencewhere global measures will be addressed to confront the increase in extreme weather events linked to climate change.