This weekend has been a very stressful time for 1,000,000 of people living in the States of Tabasco and Chiapas, southeastern of Mexico.
After the intense rains that provoked that the main rivers that cross the State over flooded, States authorities calculate one million people affected. Official figures have not been determined yet, since the capacity of the authorities has also been surpassed by the size of the disaster. Damage Evaluation has not been finalized yet.
The capital city of Villahermosa was the most affected by the floods since it is home of 1.2 million people and it concentrates half of the total population of the State. Half of the city is still under the water, without electricity. Water and food are scarce and people have irrupted into supermarkets and stores to steal food and supplies. Authorities say that potable water availability is a priority and have improved the service in these last days.
"When the Governor told the population to evacuate their homes last week, most of us did not believed him and stayed home until it was too late" says doctor Rafael who saw how his clinic in the second floor of a building downtown Villahermosa got flooded. "I have a one month baby so we decided to leave home and go to Mexico City to put my family in a safe condition".
People with economic resources moved to the neighbor cities of Minatitlán, Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and even Mexico City, 10 hours away from Villahermosa. "Last Friday the highways were filled with large lines of cars with families driving away from the disaster", says a taxi driver who seems to be making a good profit with the flooding. The Army has also evacuated people to other States by helicopter.
As always, poor people are the most affected. Unable to run away, they stayed home to look after their few belongings. In small villages and even in the capital city, there are still some regions isolated with people who have not received any support at all.
In the State, a total of 194 shelters are operating and 113 of them are in public schools. In the sidewalks of the highway heading to Villahermosa, groups of families are living under plastic tents or inside trucks and trailers. Children approach to cars begging for one "pesito", - a small coin to survive.
This weekend it has stopped raining so the levels of the rivers are slowly diminishing, but they are still over the critical level. Some people expect that it will take a month or so, before the streets are clean and without water. "Now we have to be monitoring the health conditions of population. Diseases like dengue, fungus, dermatitis are a threat for the population", says doctor Rafael.
Emergencies and communications World Vision staff are now in Villahermosa to prepare a response plan. "World Vision can support the State to finalize the damage evaluation. Another important aspect to support is children's condition in shelters", says Aldo Pontecorvo, WVMexico Emergency Director. WV Mexico is preparing a proposal focused on children's welfare and education in the shelters but also after they go back to school. Proposal will be finalized before Tuesday.
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For interviews (English and Spanish) and more information, please contact (the three in Villahermosa, Tabasco).
Aldo Pontecorvo, Emergencies Director + (521) 55 55010086
David Muñoz, Communications Advisor + (521) 55 26538480
Luis Armenta, Communications Director + (521) 55 26532969
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
