Sao Paulo (Brazil), Jun 17 (AP) Authorities of the southern Brazil state of Rio Grande do Sul said on Saturday that eight people died and 19 others were missing after a winter storm swept through the region.

Gov. Eduardo Leite said that one of those killed was a 4-month-old baby, who died before rescuers were able to get there. Fatalities were registered in seven cities.

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“This first moment, since Thursday night until now, is especially to protect human lives, support and rescue people," Leite said at a news conference on Saturday with other authorities.

Two ministers from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government traveled to the state to show support and arrange investments for Rio Grande do Sul and cities facing a critical situation. They will also go to neighbouring Santa Catarina state, which was also hit by the floods.

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Firefighters performed 2,400 rescues across the 35 cities at Rio Grande do Sul hit by the tropical storm.

Several roads were still blocked in Rio Grande do Sul, flights to the state's main cities were cancelled throughout Friday and electricity was out across state.

According to Leite, state agents are inspecting the damaged roads and bridges to see if any access can be reestablished to the most affected areas.

Mayors of cities that were affected said twice as much rain fell in 24 hours than would normally be expected for the entire month of June.

The mayor of Maquine said on his social media channels that precipitation in his city surpassed 29.4 centimeters (about 11 inches) in one day.

Experts said the storm was an extratropical cyclone, a type of weather system that most often occurs in middle and high latitudes rather than in the tropics. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)