In Brazil, the death toll from unprecedented flooding in the northeastern state of Bahia has risen to 20, with some 35,000 people displaced after a pair of dams collapsed over the Christmas holiday. Eighty-one-year-old Vitoria Rocha lost her home — and nearly lost her life — after her town became engulfed in floodwaters.

Vitoria Rocha: “When I got here and saw the destruction, I could not believe it. It seemed as though what I was seeing was not happening. My home torn apart, all my things destroyed, everything is a mess.”