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Floods in Southern Mexico

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Tue, 2010-10-05 21:30 — Liliana Santirso

International media have been focusing attention in recent weeks on massive floods in Pakistan and China. While not on the same scale as the tragedy unfolding in Pakistan, Mexico is dealing with the aftermath of its own very serious flooding in the southern part of the country.
Weeks of torrential downpours, with rainfall in many areas reaching more than double the yearly average, have led to widespread inundations.
The worst flooding has been in the lowland Gulf Coast, where the channels of major rivers have been unable to cope with the volumes of water fed into them by their network of tributaries. These tributaries begin in the mountainous areas upstream, which received the heaviest rainfalls

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Tue, 2010-10-05 22:16 — Liliana Santirso

The recent flooding has been exacerbated by the controlled releases of water from the massive dams. According to some reports"...they were in the upper reaches of theirs basins. The dams were essentially filled to capacity..."

"... with more rains expected in the next two months, water must be released to provide spare capacity to avoid even greater flooding in the wettest fall months ".

But some locals have said to the Media that they were requested to evacuate their houses when "...it wasn't raining enough for flooding...' as they know after years of experience.

After the dams were released the rains came. And the dams were released for a second time...

www.enlaceveracruz212.com.mx

Wed, 2010-10-06 02:57 — Liliana Santirso

Tens of thousands of people have abandoned their homes across southern Mexico to escape flooding from weeks of torrential rains, and forecasts are predicting even more rainfall.

The situation worsened for some areas when authorities began releasing 2,000 cubic meters (71,000 cubic feet) of water every second from four dams whose reservoirs were filled to capacity. The surge caused several rivers to overflow.

The flooding has affected all four of Mexico’s southernmost states: Tabasco, Veracruz, Chiapas and Oaxaca. But despite the dangers, government pleas to evacuate were ignored by many people, who are accustomed to severe flooding every year.

Tens of thousands are sleeping on the roofs of their homes, refusing to abandon their possessions despite the rapid rise of rivers.

Hipolito Hernandez hauled many of his belongings onto his roof as the Rio Carrizal washed over its banks and flooded dozens of homes in the farming community of Sauces in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.

Hernandez, 38, gave some of his possessions to relatives who went to shelters but he stayed put. In 2007, he lost everything when he left his home during flooding that submerged 1 million homes and killed 33 people.

http://dailycaller.com

howdy folks