Anderson da Silva Pantaleão was at the snack bar he owns last Friday when clay-colored water began filling the streets in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. Soon, it was rushing into his ground-floor shop. By 9 p.m., the water was up to his waist.
“Then the fear starts to hit,” he said. “You’re just trying not to drown.”
He dashed up to a neighbor’s home on the second floor, taking refuge for the next three nights, rationing water, cheese and sausage with two others. Members of the group slept in shifts, fearing another rush of water could take them by surprise in the dead of night.
On Monday, water began flooding the second floor, and they thought the worst. Then, a military boat arrived and rescued Mr. Pantaleão. A day later, despite heavy rains, Mr. Pantaleão was trying to go back on a rescue boat to search for friends who were still missing or stranded.
“I can’t leave them there,” he said. “The water is running out, the food is running out.”
