For 30 days rain fell on the city of New Hamburg in southern Brazil. Soon an earthen dam collapsed, sending millions of gallons of water through the valleys below. The wall of water hit Luiz’s business and the apartment building where he lives with his wife and baby.

“We saw the water rising, rising, faster and faster,” Luiz told us. “We heard about the earthen dam. The water hit our apartment building full force. It was like a wave destroying everything.”

The young family escaped their second story apartment to the safety to a relative’s house. As you can see from these photos, their food truck then sat under 10 feet of water.

“I had this dream of setting up a cafe when I was 15. All the jobs I had after that were to save money for that trailer. It took 28 years for me to save e

See Full Page