Flood

Now that the phone lines are back up, at least on this side of Manguinhos, I can use the internet...I'm searching for some photos to give you an idea of the amount of water that ran through my community last night. They're saying this was the worst flood since 1989...I was on my way home from our trip to Majé when the skies opened and I was unwilling to risk my life trying to get home. There was water as deep as 1.5 meters or more in some places, and knee to mid-thigh almost everywhere else. I spent a good portion of the evening in calf-deep water in my friend Erica's home, helping her salvage the electronics and mattresses in her home. Everything else was destroyed, except, thank the Lord!, her freezer and refrigerator. Our streets are full of mud, roaches, dead rats, filth...and the smell of bleach, lugged around in empty 2 liters, tinted brilliant rainbow colors so no one will mistake it for water.

Anyhow, I'm going to take a nap, rest a bit, and then post up a full report. It's been a long 24 hours...