On the night of November 7, 2025, the small city of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu in Brazil's southern Paraná state was forever changed. What began as a routine evening ended with the roar of wind, the shattering of glass, and the collapse of homes, as one of the most intense tornadoes in Brazil’s modern history tore through the region. The disaster left at least six dead, more than 750 injured, and nearly 10,000 people displaced across 14 municipalities, according to official government statements reported by multiple news outlets including Anadolu Agency and The Watchers.
The tornado, which has now been classified as an EF-4 event on the Enhanced Fujita Scale by MetSul Meteorologia, struck with estimated wind speeds between 250 and 300 kilometers per hour (155–186 mph). Initial assessments, as noted by Paraná’s Environmental Technology and Monitoring System (Simepar), suggested F2 intensity, but the scale of destruction—entire neighborhoods flattened, reinforced masonry structures leveled, and heavy vehicles displaced—prompted experts to upgrade the classification. According to MetSul’s analysis, "damage indicators and the degree of destruction correspond to category EF-4," making it one of the world’s most violent tornadoes of 2025.
Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, a municipality of roughly 14,000 residents, bore the brunt of the disaster. Local authorities reported that nearly 90% of the urban area was destroyed, with more than half of all buildings either flattened or severely damaged. The tornado claimed the lives of five people in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu itself, while a sixth fatality occurred in the rural area of Guarapuava. As rescue teams combed through the debris, officials warned that the death toll could still rise, with one person reported missing and more than 50 firefighters searching the wreckage.
Governor Carlos Massa Ratinho Júnior wasted no time in responding, declaring a "state of public calamity" and announcing three days of official mourning. During his visit to the devastated area on November 8, he also announced the formation of a working group to spearhead housing reconstruction efforts. The National High School Exam (Enem), scheduled for November 9 in the affected town, was suspended as a result of the chaos and destruction.
Infrastructure damage was extensive. Over 250 power poles and three high-voltage towers collapsed, plunging approximately 75% of Copel electric company’s customers into darkness. The city’s main sanitation system also failed, forcing authorities to implement emergency plans to ensure access to drinking water. By November 9, Copel reported that it had managed to restore 49% of the power distribution network in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, but many residents remained without basic utilities.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared a state of emergency and quickly mobilized federal resources. Teams from the Ministries of Health and Regional Integration and Development, along with technicians from the National Civil Defense, were dispatched to the region. Lula also sent a team led by Minister of Institutional Relations Gleisi Hoffmann and Acting Health Minister Adriano Massuda to coordinate relief efforts and assess the needs of the affected communities. Expressing his solidarity with the victims, Lula emphasized the government’s commitment to supporting recovery and rebuilding efforts.
Minister for Integration and Regional Development Waldez Góes visited the site on November 9, acknowledging the overwhelming scale of the disaster. "It is still not possible to measure all the damage caused by the tornado in Rio Bonito do Iguaçu and at least 11 other cities in the south-central region of Paraná," Góes stated, according to official government communications. He called for solidarity and swift action, stressing, "We must support families in need of health care, food, and shelter." Góes also advised local governments to request emergency funds immediately, rather than wait for a full assessment of the destruction. "Whatever is necessary to rebuild the city of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu and other affected cities, President Lula is instructing me and other fellow ministers to do so," he added.
The tornado’s origins lay in a volatile atmospheric mix: a strong temperature gradient between hot, humid air over northern Paraná and a cold front advancing from Argentina. On the day of the disaster, the temperature at the Entre Rios District station in Guarapuava reached 34.5°C (94.1°F)—the highest November temperature ever recorded there since 2001. This instability spawned supercell thunderstorms, which in turn produced the catastrophic tornado.
As the people of Paraná struggled to recover, the timing of the disaster cast a long shadow over the upcoming COP 30 United Nations climate summit, set to begin just days later in Belém, more than 3,000 kilometers to the north. The summit, which runs from November 10 to 21, 2025, gathered delegations from 194 countries and the European Union to negotiate strategies for limiting global warming to 1.5°C—a target set by the Paris Agreement. High-profile leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, the UK’s Keir Starmer, and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro attended, though the United States and China sent lower-level representatives.
Environmental experts seized on the Paraná tornado as a grim illustration of the growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events linked to climate change. Carlos Rittl, global director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, argued that the tragedy was part of a global pattern of disasters: "This process must provide answers to the victims in Paraná, to the families who suffered losses in Jamaica due to the strongest hurricane ever recorded there, and to all communities affected by extreme events." Rittl called for more ambitious agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a tripling of international funding for climate adaptation, and the development of local plans to prevent and mitigate disasters like tornadoes, heavy rainfall, and droughts.
The Brazilian government, for its part, used the COP 30 platform to launch projects such as the Tropical Forest Forever Fund, which has already raised $5 billion from countries including Germany, France, Norway, Indonesia, and Brazil itself. Brazil also proposed a global carbon market coalition, endorsed by China, the EU, the UK, Chile, Mexico, Canada, and Zambia, aiming to standardize and integrate global carbon markets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
As emergency response and reconstruction efforts continue in Paraná, the memory of November 7 lingers as a stark reminder of the stakes at play in the global climate debate. For the residents of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, the path to recovery will be long, but their plight has brought renewed urgency to the world’s climate agenda and a call for solidarity that extends far beyond Brazil’s borders.
