The image went viral across the country as a symbol of what is considered the greatest environmental tragedy in the history of Bahia. Last Sunday (26) João Alves Nascimento Filho was rescued from inside his house, in Itabuna, a municipality in the south of the state, with water up to his chest. Looking scared and with only his wallet in his hands, the 71-year-old man left home with the help of neighbors, who helped him to board a boat.
The rain began to fall heavily in late Saturday morning (25). In the afternoon, the residents decided to suspend their appliances, when they saw the water level rise. And nothing helped. From Saturday afternoon until being rescued, at the end of Sunday morning (26), João was standing on a ladder, waiting for help, practically submerged. He only left home with the help of a speedboat and a canoe.
“I was scared of dying that day. I thought at some point the water was going to go down. So I stayed on the stairs, waiting, and nothing. I was afraid of losing my documents, so it takes time to take them out later, right?”, he told CNN in a video recorded this Wednesday (29).
Retired janitor after working for 26 years in the city of Itabuna, João lives alone in a simple house in the Sinval Palmeiras neighborhood, one of the most affected by the flood. When deciding what to save and noticing the water around him, João only managed to collect the documents.
The house was totally devastated, but even so he “doesn’t want to leave for nothing”. The story is from Andréia Leite, his great-niece, who is collecting donations to help him, in a kit made on the Internet, and is working in the distribution of meals for those affected by the rains in Itabuna.
João’s neighbor, Cris Lane Araújo took blankets and donations for him and says he is a “good man, always helpful and a person with a huge heart”. And it sums up the spirit that took hold of the people of Bahia. “We are helping each other to try to rebuild”.
See the damage caused by the rains in Bahia
Reference: CNN Brasil
