Lightning Damages Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro

By: By Eric Zerkel

Published: January 18,2014

 

 

 

 

The scene looks downright apocalyptic: Dark skies provide the backdrop for Brazil's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, its arms outstretched as if to embrace the bolts of lighting striking at its core. The scene served as a microcosm of a nasty storm that swept across the Rio de Janeiro area Thursday, bringing heavy rain and volatile lightning that flooded streets at knocked out power across Brazil's second most populous city.
And just as the streets of Rio de Janieiro were left in ruin, so too was the 100-foot tall effigy. Despite lightning rods and other infrastructure to deflect the electric blows, Haaretz reports that the flood of lightning broke a finger off the right hand of the statue, leaving it in a state of disrepair.
The more than 700 ton concrete structure is no stranger to these sort of blows. The Daily Mail reports that a similar storm in February 2008 defaced the head and fingers of the structure leading to a thorough restoration.
(MORE: The Hand of God in Weather) 
"They say lightning does not strike the same spot twice. But with the Christ it does," Father Omar, the rector of the shrine that holds the statue, told Globo Radio station.
According to the Herald Sun, the damage is set to be repaired next month, meaning visitors won't have to wait long for an untainted view of one of Brazil's most iconic sites.

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A lightning flashes over the statue of Christ the Redeemer on top of the Corcovado hill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 16, 2014. (YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images)