A cyclone that hit southern Brazil killed 21 people, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul state announced on Tuesday, lamenting “the worst toll from a climate phenomenon” in his region.

“Unfortunately, I was informed that 15 bodies were found in Musum community, which brings the death toll to 21,” Governor Eduardo Leyte told a news conference.

In June, another cyclone killed 16 people in the same state that borders Uruguay and Argentina.

The governor clarified that several dozen firefighters have been mobilized and that “several hundred people” have been rescued.

Helicopters were used to transport residents of isolated areas, as some roads were impassable due to flooding.

More than 25,000 people from nearly 60 cities were affected by the torrential rains, which caused “landslides and flooding,” local authorities said in a statement.

According to Volney Barreiros, Rio Grande do Sul’s Civil Protection minister, more than 300 millimeters of rain fell in the state in the last 24 hours.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed his “solidarity” with those affected and said the federal government “is ready to help” Rio Grande do Sul.

Brazil has been hit in recent years by deadly bad weather, whose connection to climate change is not ruled out by experts.

The effects are even more devastating in a context of uncontrolled urbanization and many poor populations living in precarious hillside housing.

At least 65 people died in February in floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains in the state of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil.

Almost 9.5 million of Brazil’s 203 million people live in areas at risk of flooding or landslides.