At least 21 people died in southern Brazil due to a fierce storm that caused floods in several cities, officials said. Rio Grande do Sul Gov. Eduardo Leite said the death toll is the state’s highest due to a climate event. He said about 60 cities had been battered by the storm, which was classified as an extratropical cyclone. Leite said 15 of the deaths occurred in one house in Mucum, a city of about 50,000 residents.

The Rio Grande do Sul state government said it had recorded 1,650 people made homeless since Monday night. TV footage showed familes on the top of their houses pleading for help as rivers overflowed their banks. The city hall at Mucum recommended that residents stock supplies to meet their needs for the next 72 hours. The governor said one of the dead was a woman who was swept away during a rescue attempt.