'Christmas of our dreams' turns to nightmare as Brazil floods level homes

Vitoria Rocha, 81, poses with the picture of her parents after she found it in the rubble of her home where she lived for almost 40 years which was destroyed by floods, in Itambe, Bahia state, Brazil December 28, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

Juliana Reis, a 37-year-old from the isolated Brazilian town of Itambe, was finally reuniting for Christmas with her parents after months apart due to the pandemic.

"We really hoped it would be the Christmas of our dreams," she told Reuters on Tuesday.

A partially submerged car is seen in a flooded street at Sambaituba in Ilheus, Bahia state, Brazil December 29, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

Soon their reunion turned to nightmare, however, as dramatic floods ripped through this portion of Bahia state in northeast Brazil.

Late on Dec. 25 a dam collapsed some 27 km (17 miles) away, turning the nearby Verruga River into a violent torrent.

Reis and her parents survived only by swimming out of her house as it filled with water.

Avanaldo Rosa Capistrano, 40, sits as his daughters lay down near him on a mattress at their house during floods caused by heavy rain at Sambaituba in Ilheus, Bahia state, Brazil December 29, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

"When midnight arrived, this catastrophe happened," she recalled of their panicked Christmas, while picking through the ruins of her now-flattened home.

"I just wanted everyone to stay alive."

Her home was one of some 5,000 destroyed in this state of 15 million. The flooding has displaced nearly 50,000 people and killed at least 20.

Vitoria Rocha, 81, holds up an image of Our Lady Aparecida which she found in the rubble of her home where she lived for almost 40 years which was destroyed by floods, in Itambe, Bahia state, Brazil December 28, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

The state of Bahia has been suffering from flooding for weeks, as record rains followed a severe, months-long dry spell. The situation has deteriorated significantly in recent days, and more rain is forecast for some regions.

Rui Costa, Bahia's governor, has called the floods the "worst disaster" in the state's history and said vast swathes of the state looked as if they had been "bombarded."

The federal government on Tuesday released 200 million reais ($35.5 million) in disaster relief funds and said more was on the way.

Juliana Reis, 37, stands near the rubble of her home which was destroyed by floods in Itambe, Bahia state, Brazil December 28, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

In Itambe alone, a town of roughly 22,000 people, 60 houses have collapsed so far, according to the mayor's office.

Vitoria Rocha, 81, another Itambe resident whose house was destroyed, said it was hard to believe what she experienced was real.

"I can't accept this. I can't, because all this seems like a lie to me. My house completely destroyed, all my things destroyed," she said in tears.

"Here is everything to me," she said, gesturing to what was left of her house. "Because the only thing I have is my house, and it's over."

(Reporting by Leonardo Benassatto; Additional reporting by Patrícia Vilas Boas in Sao Paulo; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Sandra Maler)