Reply #18: 800,000 homeless in Tabasco state, authorities say...

[countryjake]

Mexico floods recede as thousands more evacuated

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N04191207.htm

04 Nov 2007 17:37:04 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Alberto Fajardo

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Thousands of people were plucked from rooftops in southern Mexico on Sunday as water receded after flooding that left 800,000 homeless in Tabasco state, authorities said.

The army evacuated 5,000 people in a four-hour operation with 14 helicopters, police official Daniel Montiel said, as more food and bottled water was trucked in to crammed shelters that were struggling to provide enough meals and dry beds.

Army officials estimated another 80,000 people were still trapped in flooded homes, local media reported. Aerial images showed the area resembling a huge lake with just the tops of roofs poking through.

More than 30,000 people have been evacuated by the army and navy teams in helicopters or boats, civil protection officials said, despite problems with fog and rain and with flood victims trying to grab onto hovering helicopters.



A Navy helicopter carries relief goods in Villahermosa November 4, 2007. Thousands of people perched on roofs in southern Mexico on Saturday, desperate to be evacuated from flooding caused by heavy rains that has left most of Tabasco state under water and 800,000 people homeless. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo