10 World Famous Landmarks That Were Almost Destroyed

4. Christ The Redeemer Is Regularly Struck By Lightning

Christ the Redeemer - or Cristo Redentor - has stood looking down on Rio de Janeiro from Corcovado mountain in Brazil since 1931 - yet it has narrowly escaped being destroyed by lightning strikes on many occasions. The statue - which weighs 635tons and stands 30metres tall (not including its 8-metre pedestal) - is situated on top of the 700-metre mountain in Tijuca Forest National Park, meaning it is prone to lightning strikes. Most famously, in February 2007, a violent thunderstorm smashed the statue's fingers, head and eyebrows - and it took two years to replace the damaged areas and to place new lightning rods on its arms. Despite this, however, once again in January 2014 the statue lost its fingers when lightning struck for a second time. Frustratingly, during restoration in 2010, the statue was vandalised with spray paint - leading Rio's mayor to declare that "a crime against the nation" had been committed.