Paraná River Hits 15.48 m, Highest Level in Our Series

Update (10/12): the river rose above 21 m on 10/12, well above this record. See Paraná River rises 5 meters in 24 hours.

Guia 3 began measuring the Paraná River on October 9, 2026. Until now the house had only been tracking the Paraná River, the one at the Cataratas, and they are different rivers: the flood that concerns the lower part of Ciudad del Este is the Paraná.

What the gauge shows

The reading comes from station 64918000 (UHE Itaipu R-4) of the National Water Agency, in Foz do Iguaçu, 7.5 km above the Friendship Bridge, with hourly data.

The Paraná River has risen steadily since the end of September: it was 11.47 m on the 29th and exceeded 15 m on October 7.

Reading note: these meters are the local gauge of the station, not the same scale as Itaipu’s bulletins, which refer to “stage 108 m” with a different reference. The two numbers measure the same river and cannot be compared.

What drives the river

The Paraná in Foz and Ciudad del Este is, above all, what Itaipu releases. Itaipu is 14 km above the Friendship Bridge, influencing the Paraná. According to the National Electric System Operator’s series, in the most recent data the plant turbine produced 11,826 m³/s and discharged 1,996 m³/s, meaning it returned about 13.8 thousand m³/s to the river, with the water still rising as it reaches the reservoir.

What this affects

Itaipu had already warned, in a bulletin reported at the beginning of October, of the risk of flooding in the lower zone of Ciudad del Este, with the first effects in the San Rafael neighborhood. The mechanism is known from previous floods: with the Paraná high, the Acaraymí stream cannot drain, the water backs up and returns to the streets of the neighborhood.

For those crossing the border, this does not close the Friendship Bridge or the micro-downtown commerce, which are at high stage, because the Paraná is not at a critical level. Those with a scheduled nautical trip on the Paraná should confirm with the operator, because navigation feels it first.

The Cataratas are a different river

The Paraná that forms the Cataratas is at 5,710 m³/s, about 3.8 times the long-term historical average of 1,500 m³/s, and decreasing after the peak of 7,271 m³/s on October 8. In other words: full floods, with the parks open. The day’s status is in how the Cataratas are today.

How to follow

The real-time crossing is on the bridge queue and the forecast for the three sides is in border weather.

Source: Guia 3’s own series from ANA telemetry (station 64918000) and open data from ONS.