Floods hit drought stricken Sao Paulo

February 27, 2015 1:37 PM | Skymet Weather Team

Widespread torrential rains have caused massive flooding tormenting people of Sao Paulo. It rained almost 100 mm in just over an hour on Wednesday which converted streets to rivers. The Sao Paulo Emergency Management Centre received around 96 mm of rain in just an hour. Many occupants in cars were trapped because their cars were submerged due to fast rising water. The flooding lead to major traffic disruptions causing severe headaches to commuters who were on their way back home. The flood was so intense that it swept away few cars and a state of alert was declared in some parts of the city. A man was electrocuted when a tree fell on the overhead power lines which downed the power lines.

All this flooding comes during the worst drought in Sao Paulo in over 80 years. Interestingly all this flood is still not enough to replenish the reservoirs with enough water. The main reservoir is around 60 km north of the city, which did not get a sizeable amount of rain.

The outlook for the next few days is of few showers. The city will have to resort to water rationing over the next few months as the water levels in the reservoirs remain extremely low.

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