At Iguazú Falls, ten times the usual river came roaring over the cliffs

October rain over Brazil has turned Iguazú Falls — a mile-wide staircase of cascades on the Argentina–Brazil border — into something even its rangers describe with a shrug: 'It just keeps raining.' On one day this month, officials measured nearly 12 million litres (more than 3 million gallons) of water per second pouring over the falls, about ten times the normal flow, until the water lapped at catwalks that usually hover well above it and walkways had to close. Visitor numbers were down in the deluge — but those who braved it, NPR reports, watched a wonder of the world running at near-record power. Scientists link the rains to this year's strong El Niño.