'Everything has disappeared,' he said.

The first storm struck late Monday and was followed by another round of violent weather hours later.

'Paths were blocked by trees and covered in dirt. We had to open them up to reach the injured for assistance,' Wolfart said.

Power lines were damaged, as were tobacco warehouses.

In Brazil, wind speeds reached 120 km per hour.

Guaraciaba Mayor Ademir Zimmerman said the situation was 'desperate'.

'I have no doubt that it was a tornado, given the type of destruction,' said Marcio Alves, civil defence coordinator for Santa Catarina.

He said 2,300 buildings were destroyed in the state, while 44 of the 64 people injured remained hospitalized. Scattered power outages continued.

In the neighbouring state of Rio Grande do Sul, at least 310 people had to leave their homes in the towns of Itaara and Victor Graef, where the wind was accompanied by hail.