Central and southeastern regions faced winds reaching speeds of 100 km/h (60 mph) and up to 10 cm (4 in) of rain in a single day, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.

The state of São Paulo, Brazil's most populous region, experienced the brunt of the storm, with seven confirmed deaths primarily due to fallen trees and infrastructure failures caused by the intense weather. Residents were caught off guard by the brief yet forceful downpour, which led to widespread outages and water supply issues. In São Paulo state's Parque São Roberto neighborhood, locals engaged in a pot-banging protest on Saturday after enduring more than 24 hours without electricity.

The capital, Brasilia, was not spared by the storms. One soldier lost his life, and another was injured at the military police headquarters. The rain was so fierce that officials in the Chamber of Deputies—Brazil's lower house of congress—resorted to using umbrellas indoors as water leaked through the roof. Despite the damage, many in Brasilia welcomed the storm as it brought relief after a record 165-day dry spell.

Brazil's recent history has been characterized by its worst drought on record, which experts attribute largely to climate change and the El Niño phenomenon. The prolonged dry conditions have exacerbated wildfires across the country, devastating vast areas of the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal wetlands while engulfing major cities in smoke. July saw a disturbing peak in the number of wildfires in the Amazon, reaching a two-decade high according to government statistics.

While Florida grappled with Hurricane Milton, which caused significant destruction this week, Brazil's central and southeastern regions faced their own environmental calamity. The storms that swept across Brazil serve as a stark reminder of the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events linked to climate change.