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At least eight people have died and thousands are stranded without power after violent storms swept across Brazil on Friday.<\/p>\n
Central and south-eastern parts of the country have been hit by winds of up to 100km\/h (60mph) and daily rainfall reaching up to 10cm (4in), according to the National Institute of Meteorology.<\/p>\n
Seven people are known to have died in S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil’s most populated state, mainly due to falling trees and infrastructure from the strong winds and heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n
Residents in the south-eastern state described the unexpected downpour as brief but really intense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Blackouts have engulfed large parts of S\u00e3o Paulo state since Friday, with water supply problems also reported.<\/p>\n
The energy firm Enel has said that more than 1.3 million homes and businesses are still without electricity. The company said it was aiming to reconnect power by Monday.<\/p>\n
This came after residents of the Parque S\u00e3o Roberto neighbourhood, in S\u00e3o Paulo state, held a pot-banging protest on Saturday after going more than 24 hours without electricity.<\/p>\n
In the capital, Brasilia, one soldier was killed and another injured at the military police headquarters.<\/p>\n
The rain was so intense local media reported that officials inside the Chamber of Deputies – the lower house of Brazil’s congress – were forced to use umbrellas inside as water leaked through the roof.<\/p>\n
However, many people in Brasilia have welcomed the storm as long-awaited relief following a record of more than 165 days without rain.<\/p>\n
In recent months, Brazil has experienced its worst drought since records began, which experts have largely linked to climate change and El Ni\u00f1o weather phenomenon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dry weather has fuelled wildfires across the country devastating large parts of the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal wetlands as well as choking major cities with smoke.<\/p>\n The number of wildfires fires in the Amazon surged to a two-decade high for the month of July, according to government data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n