Brazil storm leaves dozens dead and 1,600 homeless as families plead for help

Police check a house as residents wade through a flooded street in Passo Fundo (Diogo Zanatta-Futura Press/AP)

An extratropical cyclone in southern Brazil caused floods in several cities, killing at least 31 people and leaving more than 1,600 homeless, authorities said on Wednesday.

More than 60 cities have been battered by the storm since Monday, and Rio Grande do Sul governor Eduardo Leite said the death toll was the state’s highest due to a climate event.