Flooding in the Streets

It was a mess today, as another powerful thunderstorm rolled through Buenos Aires, dumping over 3 inches in 2 hours, with the majority coming in 45 minutes. I had no idea, as I was in the office working, away from a window. But I had been out at lunch and felt the intense humidity, as well as seen the dark clouds looming. You could tell it was going to be big.

I finally checked the window around 5 pm and it was dark as night out, with the streets filled with people running for cover. The subways were all suspended, and as usual Palermo was the first to flood. Just down the street from my apartment was the epicenter, where the Civil Guard had to be deployed to assist. The same thing happened on Monday, but at least it happened after I was already home by that point. Adding salt to the wound, it's a Friday and the weekend looks like it will be filled with rain as well. It always rains on the weekend.

With the subway out of the equation, I waited in the rain on the street with no umbrella for the bus to come, and when one finally stopped it wasn't too bad of a ride home. All told, I only got home about 20 minutes later than usual, though it could have been much worse. Fortunately for me I got off the bus at Plaza Italia, just as intense traffic was bulging up. All of the news channels are going a bit crazy over the flooding, and once again cars are floating in the streets and people are stranded. This could be a wet, boring weekend.