Severe storms swell Iguazú falls to 10 times normal flow

The famed Iguazú waterfalls on the border between Argentina and Brazil have registered 10 times their usual water volume after heavy rains, authorities said, closing one of the site's main tourist walkways for safety reasons.

The flow through the massive waterfall system reached 14.5 million litres (3.8 million gallons) per second Wednesday night, far above the usual 1.5 million per second, said Wemerson Augusto, spokesman for Iguazú National Park.

The high water level led officials to close the "Devil's Throat" walkway, famed for its breathtaking views of the falls, after it was partly submerged, Augusto told AFP.

He said such a large rush of water was "atypical" for October.

Walkways on the Argentine side were also closed Tuesday.

The falls have been swollen by heavy rains in Paraná state in southern Brazil, where emergency officials said Wednesday 24 counties had been hit by "severe weather events" that damaged some 400 houses and forced more than 1,200 people from their homes.

The water volume was the highest registered at the falls since June 2014, when the flow hit 47 million litres per second.

– TIMES/AFP