It's the eighth day of the disaster in Tabasco

Update 9:43 pm 11/5/07

It's the eighth day of the disaster in Tabasco and 60,000 people of 19 communities near the state capital of Villahermosa still need to be rescued as they are trapped on roofs and the second stories of their homes. They have been reluctant to leave fearing looting of what little they have left, but the scarcity of food and water and the growing threat of disease from mosquitoes and unsanitary conditions has finally prompted them to board the rescue boats with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and a few important documents.

To top things off, a mudslide in Chiapas also related to the heavy rains in the area resulted in 20 people injured and 16 missing.

My family reports that private citizens who contributed by lending their boats and cayucos (canoes) to the rescue missions are also allowed to visit the residential areas during daylight hours to verify the areas' security from looters. Although it's comprehensible that some of the people rummaging during the first days of the flooding might have been looking for food or supplies, the police are cracking down on any new pillagers, since it would be dubious they would be trying to salvage any food at this point. All access to residential areas is strictly restricted at night.

There is great need for diapers, baby formula, and water and, of course, every other basic need. Although the aid is coming in great amounts now, the authorities are being challenged with the logistics of distributing and allocating the provisions to all the affected sectors; some shelters were built spontaneously in homes or schools and are no yet registered in the aid roster.

This string in Google group Ayuda Tabasco has links to the growing list of registered shelters; these are spreadsheets with the names of the residents of each shelter and are published in the local newspaper Tabasco Hoy.

Yesterday, I spoke with my best friend Paola, her voice exuded sadness. Her home didn't flood and she is housing two families. Paola's family also has a small boat and her brother is helping in the rescues. She is worried and scared because there is a lot of uncertainty on how things will be resolved. Talking to her made me think of the extent of the damage to the economy and lives of our friends and family. Part of me feels relief that she is safe, but another part of me hopes I could reach trough the phone line and hug her, comfort her and tell her everything will be ok (I know I could comfort her even when I myself am restless with worry at night).

I spend all day watching the news trying to recognize the streets and buildings shown on TV; I try to imagine who among my friends might be safe or in a tight spot. At night I stay up remembering the names of all the people I know and wonder how they might be (Masita, Ricardo, Luis Enrique, Luis Rodrigo, Leonardo...). I'm also worried because I haven't spoken to uncle Cuauhtémoc, whose house did flood (although my mom tells me he and his family are ok).

My husband means well when he tells me I should get some sleep and gather strength to keep helping tomorrow; but the anguish eats at me, I can't feel comfortable, it's my hometown, my people, the place I grew up in, I can't just let it go.

I have a new hero. I've always know my mom Hortencia is a strong woman, but when I spoke to her yesterday her voice sounded tired; she had visited shelters, delivered goods, and given massages to 30+ people during the day. While we spoke she still yelled orders at the volunteers at home to go buy diapers and milk for the kids sheltered in the block. I told her we had received $400 in Paypal donations since we started this post and she was ecstatic! That money goes a long way for buying the stuff that's needed. She sent her blessings to the people that contributed and hoped that these contributions would be multiplied for the donators' families.

If I could have a wish granted tonight I would ask to that my people in Tabasco were as safe, fed, comfortable and dry as my baby daughter is now, tucked away in her bed. I wish this with all my heart.

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NASA published satellite photos of Tabasco at its Earth Observatory site; these depict the magnitude of the flooding: "It doesn’t always take a hurricane to cause devastating, widespread floods in coastal regions surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. Starting on October 28 and lasting several days, a low pressure system unleashed steady, heavy rain on southeastern Mexico. "

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From Tabasco.gob.mx:
Villahermosa, Tabasco. The National Water Commission (Conagua) stated that Monday will bring stable weather to the state of Tabasco [...] the rivers' levels have begun to drop in the last 24 hrs, such as the Samaria river that descended 43 centimeters, the Carrizal 80 cm, the Sierra two cm, the Grijalva 26 cm, the Usumacinta 30 cm, the Puxcatán 12 cm, the Oxolotán 14 cm, the Tacotalpa 10 cm, and the Teapa river another 20 cm.

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From El Universal:
Mexico's Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) acknowledged receipt of international support and in-kind and cash donation from the US, Canada, Spain, Peru, Cuba, the UK, and other countries.

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