There is stark inequality between Brazil's north and its more affluent south.

But even in Rio Grande do Sul, one of the wealthiest Brazilian states, affluent parts of Porto Alegre stand in sharp contrast with the rundown towns on its periphery, like Canoas.

Nearly three weeks after the first rains hit southern Brazil, water levels are still too high for Karine Pitana, a 42-year-old nurse, to return home.

With the waters receding very slowly, Pitana is now stuck with her brother and his family in a neighborhood on higher ground. She’s also unable to commute to work, despite hospitals desperately needing nurses like her.

“I try to move around, my brother and my sister-in-law take me to the shelters, me and my daughter, and we end up helping some of the people there,” she said.

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