At least 13 people were killed and four more are still missing after passing through a cyclone between Thursday and Friday in the south of Brazilwhere thousands of people had to be transferred to shelters, local authorities reported on Sunday.

Continuous rain and strong wind has wreaked havoc in dozens of municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, including the capital Porto Alegre, in the latest climate tragedy to hit the huge South American country.

“The number of fatalities rises to 13 and the searches are still ongoing,” following the discovery of two bodies in the city of Caraá, one of the hardest hit areas, the state’s civil defense said on Twitter. The balance through Saturday was 11 dead.

The number of missing people continued to fall from Saturday’s record of 20, after some of them were found alive. “There are four missing”, all in Caraá, a town of 8,000 on the coast of the state, 90 km from Porto Alegre, according to Civil Defense.

Authorities also reported that more than 3,700 people were left with damaged homes and about 700 people were displaced from risk areas, while electricity was cut to about 84,000 families in the region.

On horseback or in boats

The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, led a mission that toured the hardest-hit areas by helicopter with government and rescue authorities on Saturday.

“Our main goal at the moment is to protect and save human lives. Rescuing people in isolation, locating missing persons and supporting families,” said Leite.

In Sao Leopoldo 246 mm of rain fell for 18 straight hours between Thursday and Friday, “For the first time in the history” of that city of 240,000 inhabitants half an hour from Porto Alegre, said the mayor, Ary José Vanazzi.

In Sao Sebastiao do Cai, isolated by the storm, a four-month-old baby who needed medical attention has died after he could not be rescued in time, Governor Leite reported Saturday.

With no rain forecast for this Sunday, residents of the region left their homes wearing boots through the flooded streets in the towns of Novo Hamburgo, Lindolfo Collor and Sao Leopoldo, where some homes were destroyed.

Others rode on horseback or crossed by boat under cloudy skies, while the water partially covered some abandoned vehicles. Footage from local media also showed a car being dragged to a cemetery by strong winds.

The governor noted that state firefighters have rescued nearly 2,400 people in affected areas in the past two days. “The water was already up to medium high in the house. Thank God the firefighters arrived quickly and rescued us by boat. It seemed like a nightmare,” said one of the rescued victims in Sao Leopoldo, quoted by the Estadao newspaper.

Other residents were evacuated by helicopter.

Map affected areas

In Caraá, the government visited a makeshift community center as a shelter for hundreds of people whose homes had been damaged.

“We are very concerned about the situation in Caraá. It is critical that we can quickly map the key affected areas in an integrated manner and identify the people who need support,” the governor said in the statement.

Brazil regularly experiences extreme events and scientists are not ruling out a link to the effects of climate change. In February, 65 people were killed in landslides caused by record rains that hit Sao Sebastiao, a tourist beach destination about 200 km from the city of Sao Paulo (southeast).

Experts also attribute the devastating effects to uncontrolled urbanization. About 9.5 million of the 215 million inhabitants live in areas at risk of landslides or flooding.