The storm that whipped through all of Rio de Janeiro state yesterday (Feb. 6), with gushes of wind of up o 110 km/h, claimed the lives of at least five people.
According to Mayor Marcelo Crivella, two people died in the western Pedra de Guaratiba following a house collapse. Two others were injured and were taken to Lourenço Jorge hospital.
In the Rocinha favela, in São Conrado, south Rio, one person died after a barrier fell. In Vidigal, a favela on Niemeyer Avenue, a wall tumbled down and killed another person. Also in Vidigal, a tree was felled and killed a girl, who was stuck among crashed bus parts.
The death toll may rise to six: a second person may be found among the broken parts of the same bus. Firefighters are still on the scene trying to retrieve the body, as the front side of the vehicle was totally destroyed.
Rio authorities stated that the weather should remain unstable in the city of Rio de Janeiro today (7).
