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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | October 2005 
Rescue Teams Race to Reach Flooded Towns
 AP/El Universal
| | President Fox says the worst stage of the crisis is over, but many refugees still need help. |
The skies over Chiapas finally cleared on Saturday, giving military and emergency relief workers the chance to distribute essential supplies to thousands of refugees stranded from flooding following Hurricane Stan.
Desperate residents of the community Viva Mexico, near Tapachula on the border with Guatemala, pushed and shoved each other to get food, water, clothing and medicine from a military helicopter. With roads flooded and bridges down, many rural towns have been cut off from emergency services for days. Continuing rain and cloudy skies have kept aircraft from reaching some of the areas worst hit.
While the death toll in Mexico is not as high as in Central America press reports have the total at close to 30 nationwide the swath of destruction is wide, with hundreds of municipalities over six states in a state of emergency. Damage has been the worst in Chiapas, but Guerrero, Tabasco, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Oaxaca and Puebla have also been affected.
President Vicente Fox continued his tour of the devastated communities in Chiapas and Oaxaca. In a stop at Huixtla, Chiapas, he said the worst of the crisis was over, and now reconstruction can begin.
However, as evidenced by the mad rush for supplies in Chiapas, many of the affected communities are still in dire straits.
Crowds of people in towns outside of Tapachula could be seen on dry patches of land, waving to emergency aircraft. Some victims said they still hadn't heard from missing family members.
"I want them to look for my brother, Leonardo Maldonado, who is 27, He lives with us, but he went to work and I haven't heard anything from him," evacuee Marνa del Carmen told The Associated Press.
According to the Chiapas government, more than 100,000 people across the state are being housed in temporary shelters, and 14 deaths have been confirmed.
The weather forecast predicting sunny weather over the next week was a stroke of luck for the state. On Friday, Chiapas Gov. Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia said that 300,000 people were still awaiting aid. The favorable conditions will make it easier for emergency workers to reach them.
Other affected areas were not as fortunate, however.
The National Meteorological Service warned Saturday that rains will continue over much of the country. A potentially wet cold front is set to hit the Gulf state of Veracruz and the Yucatan Peninsula between Wednesday and Friday of next week.
Hurricane Stan slammed into the Gulf coast on Tuesday and quickly weakened into a tropical depression, but the ensuing heavy rains provoked mudslides and flooding as rivers burst their banks across the south.
Hurricane Stan Aid Services
To donate aid to help the victims of Hurricane Stan, see the following.
The Mexican Red Cross dispatched trucks with humanitarian aid aboard on Wednesday to Veracruz and Guerrero, zones affected by the hurricane and related flooding. They will continue to monitor the situation in the southern part of the country and will be sending more aid. Their website is: www.cruzroja.org.mx.
To donate to the Mexican Red cross, check the website or call 01 (55) 1084-4567 or 1084-4568.
The Chiapas State Government is also accepting food and monetary donations.
For food donations, there are two Mexico City donation sites located at Toledo 22, between Hamburgo and Tokio and another at Insurgentes Norte 1815 at the Club de Leones de la Villa de Guadalupe, near Montevideo. They are requesting water, canned food, rice, corn, grains and powdered milk. They are also asking for blankets.
To make monetary donations, the state's website has information in Spanish: www.cocoso.chiapas.gob.mx.
A Mexico City donation drop-off point will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Sun., Oct. 16, located near the entrance to 16 de Noviembre street. Authorities are asking for water, diapers and non-perishable items such as beans, sugar, oil, soap, used clothes and shoes. Medicine will not be accepted. |
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