$1 Million Committed to Flood Relief in Mexico
November 6, 2007 — Massive flooding that has left nearly the entire state of Tabasco, Mexico, underwater has affected more than a million residents who desperately need basic survival supplies, including water, food, shelter, cooking kits and hygiene items.
As of today, an estimated 20,000 people in neighboring Chiapas were also hit by the floods. In addition, two mudslides — leaving more than a dozen people missing — were reported in the border region between Chiapas and Tabasco.
CRS Mexico staff wades through floodwaters in the Tabasco capital of Villahermosa. Photo by Erica Dahl-Bredine/CRS Mexico
CRS Mexico staff arrived in Tabasco on Saturday to help with relief and assess the level of need. According to reports, whole communities are still waterlogged and face the threat of mudslides and waterborne disease.
"As we flew into Villahermosa, the capital city of Tabasco, on Saturday evening, everything as far as the eye could see was underwater. Whole villages, farmland, almost everything," says Erica Dahl-Bredine, CRS Mexico country representative. "All over the city people are lined up outside of churches and government buildings waiting to receive food, water and blankets."
The $1 million pledged by CRS last week will help our partners, Caritas Mexicana and Caritas Tabasco, provide food, water, blankets and other basic emergency supplies to thousands of affected families. The agency has also dedicated $500,000 toward the floods that have devastated areas of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba this week.
A truck submerged by flooding in Tabasco. Photo by Erica Dahl-Bredine/CRS Mexico
The floodwaters seeped into the southern Mexican state on Wednesday, October 29 after nearly a week of incessant rainfall. The situation reportedly worsened when two dams in the neighboring state of Chiapas were drained, causing three major rivers in Tabasco to overflow — a situation reminiscent of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to reports from the field.
Described as the worst flooding Mexico region has ever seen, most of the state of Tabasco, located in southern Mexico, is underwater. Tabasco, about the size of Maryland, is bordered by Veracruz to the west, Chiapas to the south and the Gulf of Mexico to the north. The state has a population of about 2.1 million, and nearly half the population in 850 towns have been affected by the flooding.
Many of the towns, including the state capital, Villahermosa, were turned into virtual lakes. Residents spent hours trapped on their rooftops. Thousands have been evacuated and are taking refuge in shelters and neighboring states, according to government officials. "This is the worst disaster in Mexico's recent history. The rains are expected to continue, so we think it will only get worse," says Dahl-Bredine. "Already we've seen that people are coming together in solidarity and support."
Evacuees take shelter in a cathedral in Villahermosa, Tabasco. Photo by Erica Dahl-Bredine/CRS Mexico
But with towns underwater and many roads impassable, assessment is difficult.
There are no estimates on the number of homes destroyed, as the flooding is still too severe to allow damage assessment. Long-term recovery efforts will likely include agricultural rehabilitation (about 90 percent of Tabasco's crops were inundated by the floods), housing construction and repair, and rehabilitation of water and sanitation systems.
Our Work in Mexico
CRS has been supporting human development and humanitarian efforts in Mexico since the 1960s. In recent years, the agency has assisted with rural development and human rights projects in Chiapas, and provided emergency relief after disasters including the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City.
