At least eight people died after heavy rains in Brazil, authorities said on Saturday, as storms swept parts of the country after a severe drought sparked a record wave of forest fires.
Central and southeastern Brazil have been buffeted by winds of 100 kilometers per hour and up to 10 cm of daily rainfall since Friday, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.
Seven people have died in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous state, mainly due to falling trees and walls toppled by heavy winds and rain, according to state civil protection.
Large parts of the city of Sao Paulo were hit by power outages, and energy company Enel said around 1.6 million homes and businesses were still without electricity.
In the capital Brasilia, a soldier was killed and another injured after a tree fell while they were removing a flag in front of the military police headquarters, the local command said.
News media reported that officials in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Brazil’s Congress, had to use umbrellas indoors because rainwater was leaking from the roof.
Still, many welcomed the downpours as a relief in Brasilia after a record more than 165 days without rain.
Brazil has experienced its worst drought in recent months since records began, which experts say is linked to climate change.
The dry weather sparked fires across the vast country, which raged through the Amazon rainforest, left jaguars with burns in the Pantanal wetlands and choked major cities with smoke.
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