Sunday, January 26, 2025 São Paulo has been thrown into chaos as a severe storm struck on Friday, January 24, 2025, leaving the travel and tourism industry grappling with unprecedented challenges. The storm caused widespread flooding, destroyed infrastructure, and plunged 180,000 residents into darkness as power outages crippled the city. The devastating impact has dominated travel news, highlighting the vulnerability of urban tourism hubs to extreme weather events.
The storm unleashed torrential rains, with the highest rainfall recorded in the Mooca neighborhood at 94.3 mm (3.71 inches).
Limão and Luz followed closely, recording 74.6 mm (2.94 inches) and 73.
2 mm (2.88 inches) respectively. In the Greater São Paulo area, Cotia led with 43.
3 mm (1.70 inches), followed by Carapicuíba and Osasco. Winds reaching 60 km/h (37 mph) compounded the destruction, snapping trees and damaging buildings across the region.
The Centro Nacional de Monitoramento e Alertas de Desastres Naturais (Cemaden) and the Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (Inmet) issued urgent warnings for strong winds and flooding risks. Residents received alerts via cell phones, urging them to seek safety during the hour-long storm. Nearly 180,000 residents were left without power within 90 minutes of rainfall.
Key transport services faced severe disruptions, with flooding halting operations on Line 1-Azul of the subway and Line 7-Rubi of CPTM. Iconic areas like Beco do Batman, the Pompéia region, Santana, a.