Floods unite Brazilians in solidarity despite political rift

In solidarity with residents of the water-ravaged southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazilians from around the country have been sending money and goods, volunteering at shelters and soup kitchens, and caring for pets left behind in the chaos. "What is happening is extremely sad, it is devastating," Natalia Maria Montenegro Cardoso sighed as she unloaded about twenty packs of bottled water from the boot of her small car at the train station -- now the headquarters of the Citizen Action NGO -- in Rio's Gamboa neighborhood.