Editorial
RIO DE JANEIRO – The average rainfall per year is 1086 mm (42.8 in) in Rio de Janeiro, or 91 mm (3.6 in) per month. The wettest weather is in March when an average of 143 mm (5.6 in) of rainfall (precipitation) occurs across 12 days, according to BBC. Although The Weather Channel reports April as a month has an average of 137 mm (5.4 in) and December 170 mm (6.7 in).
We’ve had 288 mm (11 in) of rain in the last 24 hours, and at the time of writing there have been 95 confirmed deaths and 44 more had been hospitalized. Most of the victims were from favelas, whose homes were destroyed in mudslides.
Thousands of motorists were stranded Monday night on highways blocked by rising water, and Tuesday morning Mayor Eduardo Paes urged workers to stay home and closed all schools.
Personally I have barely stepped outside in the last 36 hours, only for the essentials, and when I did the wind ate my umbrella like a pit-bull on a poodle. Thankfully my electricity and Internet have stayed on, and I work from home.
In other news, PAC 2 was announced and taking shape, while Rio works on major renovations for the World Cup and Olympics. Google Street View is moving closer just as Harley-Davidson struggles to gain ground amongst the emerging market.
In Sports and Entertainment, this weekend Rio will host the Viradão Carioca Festival as well as the Taça Rio Semi Finals at Maracanã Stadium. In the coming weeks we’ll get the premier of 3D Alice in Wonderland, as well as Moby.
A last bit of advice for the week, for those adventurers traveling on a budget, check out Couchsurfing.org.