Santa Catarina's Civil Defense said that 1,200 people are isolated in eight different villages in the rural area of Turvo municipality.

The weather forecast warns that the storm will continue until Sunday, dropping as much as 150 mm of rain in southern Santa Catarina, which will increase the risk of mudslides and floods.

Earlier this week in Argentina, the same storm system pummeled several small towns in the northeastern province of Misiones, taking 11 lives.

Another 56 people were hospitalized in the province, 16 in serious condition, while the number of evacuees rose to 400, according to sources cited by the official Telam news agency.

Meanwhile Argentine President Cristina Fernandez pledged to rebuild destroyed homes and help restore the victims' farm-based livelihoods.

According to authorities in Misiones, the powerful wind storm destroyed around 100 homes, four schools and a health clinic.