Cyclone hits southern Brazilian state, leaving 1,600 homeless
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- Xinhua
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RIO DE JANEIRO, May 6, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- An extra-tropical cyclone striking the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina has left more than 1,600 people homeless, the local civil defense department said Tuesday.
At least eight municipalities, among 33 affected by the cyclone, have declared a state of emergency, according to the state's civil defense department.
"The priority of the state and of the municipalities is to provide an immediate response to the population," the department's director, Marcio Luiz Alves, said Tuesday.
Major roads in the state have been blocked as a result of storm damage, preventing federal and state governments from delivering aid to victims.
In the neighboring Rio Grande do Sul state, three people were reported to have been killed by the cyclone and some 25,000 have been forced to temporarily leave their homes.