SAO PAULO, Brazil, Aug. 30 -- Severe storms and hail have killed at least two people and damaged more than 1,600 homes in Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the state Civil Defense department reported Saturday.

The fatalities included an 8-year-old child who was crushed by a falling tree in Porto Alegre, located in the eastern part of the state, and a 72-year-old man whose vehicle was swept away by raging floodwaters in Arroio Grande in the south.

The severe weather system swept through 21 municipalities between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Tres Palmeiras in the north was identified as the hardest-hit municipality, with hail damaging approximately 1,000 homes. In Quarai, situated near Brazil's western border with Urugu...