Mexico, Central America floods, mudslides kill 162
Raging brown floodwater and banks of mud covered chunks of Central America and southern Mexico on Thursday after days of torrential rain and mudslides killed at least 162 across the region.
Rescue workers battled to get to remote villages, where hillsides have collapsed under the downpour, and thousands of evacuees from urban shantytowns hunkered down in emergency shelters as rain continued to pound the region.
The death toll soared on Wednesday as rivers swollen by rain from Hurricane Stan burst their banks in southern Mexico, and emergency teams found dozens of bodies buried under banks of mud in remote towns in Guatemala and El Salvador.
As troops tried to reach flooded areas with drinking water, food and medical kits, authorities estimated several thousand homes were destroyed across the region.
“I was like a worm sliding around in the mud,” said Alexander Flores, whose home on the edge of El Salvador’s capital San Salvador was buried under six feet of dirt and rocks.
“I just heard two shouts from my mother, saying, ‘Alex, Alex,’ maybe for me to help her or her trying to save me,” he said. His mother, four children and a newborn baby, all died.
In the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, television pictures showed mud-spattered families praying and fleeing for their lives as a torrent of raging muddy water tore by, carrying chairs and refrigerators away as houses collapsed into it.
An army helicopter hoisted up babies, young children and elderly people to safety. Below, their families wept.
MEMORIES OF MITCH
Guatemala reported 79 dead, but the government said the figure could rise. Unconfirmed reports said hundreds may have been killed in an isolated region in the west of the country.
Entire families were missing after a sea of mud, trees and rocks descended on the hill town of Tecpan, west of the capital Guatemala City, destroying more than 30 flimsy homes.
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Secretary-General saddened by deadly impact of floods in Mexico, Central America
The following statement is attributable to the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
The Secretary-General is saddened by the loss of life and damage caused by the severe flooding and mudslides that have affected hundreds of thousands of people across Mexico and Central America. He extends his condolences to all those who have been affected by this natural disaster, and particularly to the families who have lost their loved ones.
The United Nations is currently assessing the extent of the needs created by the flooding and mudslides in the affected
Central America, Mexico and Haiti: Floods from Hurricane Stan Emergency Appeal No. 05EA021
THIS EMERGENCY APPEAL SEEKS CHF 1,568,000 (USD 1,230,694 OR EUR 1,012,648) IN CASH, KIND, OR SERVICES TO ASSIST 10,250 FAMILIES (SOME 51,250 BENEFICIARIES) FOR 6 MONTHS
CHF 250,000 (USD 196,188 or EUR 161,463) has been allocated from the Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to begin relief operations in response to the floods. Unearmarked funds to reimburse the DREF are encouraged.
A separate appeal seeking CHF 487,000 for 21,000 people (4,200 families) for floods and volcanic activity in El Salvador was launched on 5 October 2005
The situation
News of extensive flooding and mudslides, accompanied by lack of communication, raises fears that the death toll in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and southern Mexico could be a great deal higher than the 450 reported following Hurricane Stan"s havoc last weekend.
In Guatemala, the president has asked Congress to declare a state of emergency because entire villages have been destroyed by the mudslides and flash floods, and many people are still missing.
El Salvador likewise fears that more people than the reported 64 have died, because the 54,000 evacuated throughout the country will have difficulty returning to their
Death count from Hurricane Stan rises in Mexico, Central America
The death count from Hurricane Stan continued to rise in Mexico and Central America as rescue workers reached towns cut off by massive floods and mudslides.
The storm, which churned into Mexico's Gulf Coast Oct. 4 before unleashing heavy rains onto much of Central America, left more than 600 confirmed dead and more than 1,000 more missing in the region, though relief workers said the number could be much higher and warned that residents could be dogged by disease and food shortages for months.
The storm slammed into the Mexican
Hurricane Stan kills 162 in Mexico, Central America
Huge mudslides, flooding and torrential rains from Hurricane Stan have killed at least 162 people in Central America and southern Mexico, rescue workers said on Wednesday.
Relentless rain pounded mountain villages and urban shanty towns across the impoverished region, and hillsides collapsed under four days of downpours.
The death toll more than doubled on Wednesday when rivers burst their banks in southern Mexico, and emergency teams found dozens more victims buried under banks of mud in remote Guatemalan towns.
By the evening, the death toll in Guatemala stood at 79 people, but the government said that
Tropical storm Jose hits Mexico, loses power
Tropical storm Jose, the 10th of the season, dumped heavy rain on eastern Mexico on Tuesday but was downgraded to a depression as it moved over the central highlands.
Mexico withdrew storm warnings along its Gulf Coast as Jose weakened after hitting the coast of Veracruz state, some distance from its main oil ports.
No deaths were reported, although emergency services feared Jose could trigger landslides in the mountains and cause lowland flooding.
"Heavy rain will increase the chance of mudslides in mountain areas, raise river levels and some floods in low-altitude zones of Veracruz and
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How to reach Mexico?
By far the most popular style of transport is independent travel relying on the network of buses of varying quality that criss-cross Central America and Mexico. Bus travel is certainly a very good way to get a feel for the countries you are travelling through. But don't shun the occasional opportunity to take a short flight - the view from above has the benefit of providing a different perspective.
Travelling under your own steam is also very popular and brings with it a freedom to explore that bus travel simply does not allow. We provide details on driving
Rains and flooding kill some 30 people in Mexico
Heavy rains and flooding from a series of storms have killed around 30 people in Mexico and left thousands homeless in coastal areas in the past week, with more rain forecast for the weekend.
Rains from Tropical Storm Jose, the 10th of the season, drenched Mexico's Gulf coast early in the week, forcing some 25,000 people from their homes in Veracruz state.
Seven people were killed in a landslide in a mountainous region of the state, and four died as rivers overflowed their banks in lower-lying areas, officials said on Thursday.
On the Pacific
Tropical storm Jose, the 10th of the season, dumped heavy rain on eastern Mexico on Tuesday but was downgraded to a depression as it moved over the central highlands.
Mexico withdrew storm warnings along its Gulf Coast as Jose weakened after hitting the coast of Veracruz state, some distance from its main oil ports.
Emergency services feared Jose could trigger landslides in the mountains and cause lowland flooding.
"Heavy rain will increase the chance of mudslides in mountain areas, raise river levels and some floods in low-altitude zones of Veracruz and Puebla," Mexico's civil protection agency said in a statement.
The
