By Xiu Ying, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The torrential storm that hit the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on Monday night caused local business losses of R$ 182.8 million (US$ 47 million), according to the Fecomércio (Federation of the Commerce of Goods, Services, and Tourism of the State of Rio de Janeiro). According to the survey conducted by the institution, 76 percent of commercial establishments reported having been negatively impacted by the heavy rains.
For 51.4 percent of local business owners, the losses were related to the absence of employees who could not make it to work. Almost 30 percent of the commercial establishments in Rio suffered damages caused by floods in the establishments themselves or in their warehouses.