Death toll rises to 13 from devastating cyclone in Brazil

SAO PAULO, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The death toll rose to 13 from the extratropical cyclone that lashed southern Brazil over the weekend with four people still missing, said the country's civil defense agency on Sunday.

The devastation caused by the storms and floods began Friday, affecting more than 40 towns in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, which borders neighboring Uruguay and Argentina.

The search operation for those missing is still going on, said the civil defense agency.

More than half a million people were left without electricity over the weekend and 4,913 people were displaced, according to the civil defense agency.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged federal aid to the affected area.