After Floods and Landslide, Chiapas and Tabasco Struggle To Get Back On Their Feet

Thanks to the pumps set up, the waters have begun to receed considerably in a few areas of Villahermosa; however, the downtown area and colonias near the river banks are still up to six feet underwater.

According to my mom, Hortencia (Dona Tencha to friends), the few streets that are drying-up are a mess: a fetid stench emanates from the muddy sidewalks and walls, dead animals lie bloating under the sun, and trash collection is a challenge.

There are the stories of old couples returning to their poor homes with the few belongings they could salvage; they observe with sadness their muddied gardens that fed them - their macal, plantain, corn, etc.

Also, if we're going to rebuild we need to get the economy back on its feet, but a new concern is the loss of work; hundrends of jobs are halted or no longer exist.

70 kms south of Villahermosa, on the Tabasco-Chiapas border, the landslide that washed away 50 houses in the village of Juan del Grijalva resulted in nine people dead and 40 people are still reported missing.

Those that perished were all related to Emilia and Roydán (11 and 3, pictured above), a brother and sister who wereleft orphaned. "The earth opened-up and there went my mother, father and grandfather", Emilia told TV Azteca. Beside losing their parents they lost their four grandparents, two siblings and an uncle. We found this story very moving and we are posting TV Azteca's email (tuopinion@tvazteca.com.mx) for those of you who'd like to follow-up and try to help Emilia and Roydán We'll do the same on our part; please let us know if you are able to get a response.

Also, 60 more families from the town of López Mateos, municipio de Copainalá, were evacuated due to sinking of the ground after the rains premeated and softened the soil.

There are 12,000 people affected in Chiapas; aid is arriving through Pichucalco, to Ostuacán and Juan de Grijalva.

These past few days have been dominated by much tragedy and sadness. But today I joined my baby (Victoria) in her afternoon na; I hugged her tight and I felt at peace for a moment.