Twenty commuters were seen taking shelter on handrails as murky water thundered past them at a flooded tube station.
Most could be seen standing or sitting on the barrier in the middle of the passageway.
The remainder could be seen perched on the thin rail at the side of the corridor as they clung onto the grille beside them.
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A few yards upstream, brown water thundered down a staircase into the underground station from the street above.
People’s legs were soaked by the gushing torrent as they remained trapped on the handrails, unable to move.
The frightening scenes were filmed at the Jardim São Paulo-Ayrton Senna metro station in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday (24 Jan) afternoon.
Local media say a wall at the station entrance collapsed under the force of the water, leading to the chaotic scenes.
That day São Paulo recorded the third heaviest rainfall in its history since 1961, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.
A total of 125.4 mm (4.9 in) of rain fell on the city that day, resulting in the death of an elderly man.
By 5 pm, 140,997 properties in São Paulo had been left without power, rising to 179,667 in the Greater São Paulo area.
Heavy rain fell on the megacity after a perfect storm of sea breeze, heat, and high humidity, as reported by Need To Know.
The metro line in question is fully up and running again after 200 people carried out draining, cleaning, and repair work.
Jardim São Paulo and two other flooded stations were reopened at 11:05 pm on Sunday (26 Jan) after 55 hours of shutdown.
The authorities have stated that the collapsed wall at the former station will be reinforced.
São Paulo mayor Ricardo Nunes said on Saturday (25 Jan): “On Friday, we had the equivalent of half the rainfall expected for the entire month.
“We faced several issues, but the city’s resilience showed as it quickly bounced back despite all the rain, proving that the investments we’ve made in drainage, stream channelisation, and slope stabilisation have been effective.”
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