A rare cyclone bringing strong winds and rain may have killed seven fishermen and has damaged houses and caused blackouts on the southern coast of Brazil, Civil Defense officials said yesterday.

Brazil?s official weather service has denied the weather phenomenon is a hurricane as US meteorologists said earlier, but warned of gusty winds in the southern state of Santa Catarina yesterday. ?The center of the cyclone is already above the ground in Santa Catarina and we have some municipalities without power, some roofs damaged by wind and by trees,? said Civil Defense Capt. Marcio Luiz Alves.

He said one fishing boat sank on Saturday night and its crew of seven was missing. ?There are fears that they drowned, Also, there are four fishing boats in a critical situation as they cannot return to the shore due to the storm,? Alves said. Wind speed in some areas of Santa Catarina reached over 60 mph (100 kph), while waves reached to 16 feet (5 metres). Alves said an early storm warning allowed Civil Defense officials to warn residents and many had left the shore area.

He said the storm was expected to lose its strength by the morning as it hit a mountain range.