Rio Grande do Sul, a state in the South of Brazil, is in a state of devastation. Since the beginning of May, heavy rains have caused tremendous flooding, trapping their houses waiting for rescue. To date, more than 100 people have died, and hundreds of pets have gone missing.

One of the families affected was that of Robson “Nobrake” Chaves, an IBJJF brown belt Pan champion. Robson Nobrake trains under Alliance Mario Reis in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, and lives in Canoas, a city near the capital. 

On May 3, his family home was submerged in water at night, and the local city hall sent a message from the Rio Branco, his neighbors, to evacuate their house.

“I was trying to save the appliances from our house," Nobrake said in an exclusive interview for FloGrappling. "After that, I took my mother and our two dogs to a safe place in Porto Alegre. When we were there, we were told that the city was canceling the evacuation order, and we were able to get back, but around 5am, the street were flooded. It was impossible to transit by there.”

Robson was saving clothes and food for his family and the dogs and planning to call friends to rescue them. Four men were passing on the street with a boat, and they helped him open a heavy door in his house that was blocked by water—the door was half submerged.

His mother was locked on the second floor of the house until a boat rescued them. Robson said that during the transit, they also rescued a 90-year-old man and his dog.

“When we left, the water was above the waist," he said. "The next day, our full house was underwater."

Robson was listening to the news, and the situation was getting worse. He decided to help rescue people and animals.

“In the first few days of rescue, I was on the water wearing shorts, sandals, and a shirt because I didn’t have time to have appropriate clothes," he said. "Since then, I have volunteered to work for 15 hard days to rescue. It was 15 heavy, painful, and sad days. I saw things that I’ve never seen before: dead people and animals, thieves taking advantage of the situation, people fighting for their lives.”

In the meantime, Robson is still amid his training camp at Alliance to fight for his World title. Professor Mario Reis’ academy is located in one of the few non-affected areas in Porto Alegre, and Robson is training there. His mom is safe with the dogs in an apartment in the city of Rio Branco.

Robson will compete in the brown belt super heavyweight division in Long Beach, California this week and is ready to conquer his World title.

“I’m apprehensive about leaving my city and my mom during this time in Brazil. The water will decrease, our house will be dirty, and I won’t be there to help. But at the same time, I’m professional, and I’ll be competing next week. I’m ready.” Robson said.

Robson has shared links for ways to help the citizens of Rio Grande do Sul on his Instagram account. Many people in the community are sharing links and crowdfunding to rebuild the state.

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