Tabasco Floods

As I did some final packing early November 1st, I saw something about flooding in Tabasco on the news. At the time, I had little idea where Tabasco was or why there had been flooding. But as about half of the capital remains underwater almost 2 weeks later, I have learned more. I'm not sure how much attention the Tabasco flooding received in the States, but it continues to be present in the news here.

A couple of the missionaries here with Medical Teams International (both Covenanters, by the way) have gone to evaluate how best to respond. The following portions of e-mails from them will hopefully give you an idea of the condition Tabasco is in

"A week of torrential rains has brought the worst flooding in 50 years to the area of Tabasco, Mexico causing Mexico's president to call it one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history. Reports say that there are over 800,000 displaced people in Tabasco due to the extreme flooding." (Adam Moore)

"The flooding has affected about half of the population of the state or about 1.1 million people. The streets of downtown of Villahermosa (the state capital) are flooded. People are getting around on boats. The government says that 15,000 businesses have been lost." (Chuck Perez)

Also, you can click on this Situation Report if you'd like to read more.

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The picture below is of a family passing through the high waters in the downtown area of a city. I'm using it as my desktop background to remind me to pray for the people of Tabasco. I'll keep the file size large, in case you would like to do the same:

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If you'd like ideas of what to pray for...

• The situation has been heart-wrenching. As we approached the city for the first time on Sunday, people who had to evacuate their homes because of the flooding were on the side of the highways flagging down the vehicles and asking for food and money donations.
• Most of the businesses in the main part of the city are under water. Some of the areas have 10 to 15 feet of water.
• We have met people from rural communities as well as people from the city that are being housed in shelters who have lost everything. Yesterday, we were in a shelter where there were 4000 displaced people. The families had gathered blankets, clothes, and other basic things from their homes before escaping or being rescued.
• One of the dangers is that there might be water-borne illnesses and cholera outbreaks after the water recedes. (Adam Moore)

To support the medical team with donations: If you would like to support with donations or would like to access more information (including our reports from the site), please go to Medical Team's website at www.medicalteams.org (Chuck Perez)