2007 Tabasco flood

Avenida Méndez, Villahermosa, Tabasco

The 2007 Tabasco flood occurred in late October and early November 2007 in the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, in which as much as 80% of the former was left under water. At least 20,000 people were forced to seek emergency shelter. Over 1,000,000 residents have been affected.

Geography

Location of Tabasco within Mexico

Three rivers flow through the low-lying city of Villahermosa, and the urban landscape is marked by a number of lagoons.

The southern Mexican state of Tabasco is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the west, Chiapas to the south, and Campeche to the north-east. To the east Tabasco borders with the Petén department of Guatemala, and to the north with the Gulf of Mexico. Tabasco is in the northern half of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The state capital is Villahermosa.

The hydrology of Tabasco is complex. Most of the state is a wide coastal plain crossed by rivers coming from the mountains further south in Chiapas and Guatemala. The two main rivers in the region are the Río Grijalva and the Río Usumacinta, which converge before draining into the Gulf of Mexico north of Villahermosa through the wildlife-rich wetlands known as the Pantanos de Centla.

These rivers are considered mature, since they are in the lowest part of their course, and the plain they cross allows them broad, wide flows, meandering and dividing into separate branches. This is the case with the Grijalva, which separates into several branches in the central part of Tabasco (known locally as the Río Carrizal, Río Samaría and Río Mezcalapa). These three rivers converge at Villahermosa, where they recombine and again take the name Grijalva. The main branch of the Grijalva in Chiapas is dammed by the country's four largest hydroelectric plants.

Causes of the floods

Tabasco floods were basically originated from the increasing level of the sea and the sinking of the land in the last century. In addition, the constant extraction of petroleum and gas, the construction of dams at the zone, the erosion of land and deforestation also have contributed to the flood phenomenon. Global warming has increased sea level making water regions at the low sandy zones of the Gulf of Mexico, disappear. Due to its location, Tabasco is the territory in most danger.

Impact

Tabasco was subject to heavy rain in late October and early November 2007, causing widespread flooding. As much as 80% of the state was under water. At least 20,000 people were forced to leave their houses in the search of emergency shelter. Over 1,000,000 residents have been affected.

The 2007 Tabasco flood not only destroyed many family houses and took away people’s belongings, but also affected theaters, libraries, artistic schools and museums. One of the buildings affected was the house of the poet Carlos Pellicer Cámara, which ended under the water. The house where the poet lived his childhood is located in Narciso Sáenz 203, in the center of Villahermosa, Tabasco. Another historical house affected is located in 620 of the Lerdo de Tejada Street, in Villahermosa, close to Carlos Pellicer’s house. The house once was occupied by José Gorostiza, the author of the ‘’Muerte sin fin’’ poem, his brother, the dramatist Celestino Gorostiza and the man of letter Andrés Iduarte.

Economic impact at national levels will be insignificant. There is important damage in the fields which is causing the increasing of banana and cacao prices. . The flood in Tabasco will not affect so much the economy in Mexico. Guillermo Ortiz Martinez, who is the president of “Banco de Mexico” (Banxico), agrees that Mexico will not have so much inflation for the Tabasco flood. But some prices of products will increase such as banana and cacao. The General Peasant Confederation informed that because of the flooding, 100% of the harvests are lost. This represents an economic damage of 480 dollars. President Felipe Calderón has sent seven thousand and five hundred people to help people in Tabasco. This is because of the big damage in roads, houses, and farms. .

In the area of agriculture the flood destroyed the agricultural production in the state of Tabasco, the largest producer of cocoa in the country and a major source of bananas, but is not expected that losses affect international prices, experts said on Friday. Tabasco produces 80% of all cocoa Mexico and 40% of bananas, according to Luis Rey Carrasco Linares, an expert from the Autonomous University of Chapingo in his squad of Tabasco. The heavy rains that punished the state for more than a week occurred during the cocoa harvest, which lasts from September to December, Carrasco said. All this year's harvest is under water and was lost, he added. The loss will have its greatest impact for the more than 30,000 families who earn their living in the production of cocoa, Carrasco said, adding that before the flood, farmers were grappling with a plague of fungus. .

"The situation is extraordinarily serious: This is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country" said President Felipe Calderón in a televised address on the night of November 1, 2007.

The Tabasco flood caused the lost of thousands of books from the Villahermosa central library and 78 libraries from five different municipals. The Grijalva River affected the infrastructure and works of the library from Jose Maria Pino Suarez state. The entire vault is full of water, water that should be removed so the books that were not affected can be saved. The water also flooded the auditory and damaged 160 chairs, 52 tables, 6 personal computers, 4 printers and 26 shelves. The water rose until the second floor damaging 15 thousand books from the general collection. .

Chronology

Using sandbags to try to contain the water

• October 232007: An accident that occurred amid storm conditions in the Bay of Campeche necessitates the evacuation of a Pemex oil exploration platform. In the rescue operation, 23 workers' lives are lost and, days later, a major oil slick arrives on the coast of Campeche and Tabasco. Heavy rain continues to fall over the southern Gulf Coast for the remainder of the week.
• October 302007: In the afternoon of 30 October, the Río Grijalva and some of its affluents begin to break their banks. Flooding alerts are broadcast over local TV and radio for the municipalities of Centro, Cunduacán, Jalapa, Jalpa de Méndez, Nacajuca and Tacotalpa. Evacuations of towns at greatest risk begins. The federal Secretariat of the Interior issues a declaration of emergency for the entire state.
• October 312007: Tabasco Governor Andrés Granier announces that 70% of the state is under water and 300,000 people affected. Damage is also reported to the south in Chiapas, along with the first reports of missing people.
• November 12007: Granier states that "80% of the state is probably flooded" and gave a figure of 400,000 people affected. President Felipe Calderón tours the affected area and, that evening, addresses the nation on television to report on the gravity of the situation.
• November 22007: In the early morning hours, the Grijalva breaks the dykes in Villahermosa and the city's central district is ordered evacuated. A million people's homes are under water.
• November 32007: With the authorities fearing looting in Villahermosa, the army is deployed at supermarkets to ensure order.
• November 42007: Some shops and lorries are looted in spite of the army presence. Residents relocated to shelters complain about inadequacies in the distribution of aid.
• November 52007: Food shortages are reported at the shelters. Calderón visits the area for a third time and announces a "fiscal amnesty" plan for the state including the cancellation of tax payments and electricity bills. In the evening, a landslide washes away 50 houses in the village of Juan del Grijalva on the Tabasco-Chiapas border; 70 people are reported missing.
• November 62007: The water levels in both the Grijalva and the Carrizal fall significantly overnight. Pumping begins to drain the city of Villahermosa.

Causes and Prevention

Tabasco is one of the richest states in Mexico according to its amounts of petroleum. However it is one of the poorest states according to social services and health. Now it is said that the disaster could have been prevented, but the money that was destined to infrastructure and the plans to do it, are vanished. The National Commission of Water “CONAGUA”, was responsible for the construction of hydraulic repairs in the “Peñitas’ ditch”, which would have reduced the impact of the water in Tabasco. Authorities and legislators consider accurate to avoid the repetition of this tragedy, elaborating an integral hydraulic plan to end the problems that were not solved in other floods, like the one in 1999.This hydraulic infrastructure will include the construction of: borders, breakwaters and sea walls to fight the sea, as well as the action of dragging the rivers.

--Almeja 19:20, 12 November 2007 (UTC) --Almeja 00:48, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Response

National

Students in Guadalajara collect donations for Tabasco

Despite the great tragedy that has come upon the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, the Mexican community is proving that they are more united than ever. There has been hundreds of people helping from all parts of Mexico including people in states that where previously in simililar situations like those that suffered the devastion of Hurricane Dean. Artists like Alejandro Fernandez, Thalia and Miguel Bosé who donated 60,000 USD [1] among others have also shown their support. Another great responce has been brought by the Mexican football clubs and football players.

Provisions=stock or supply of food Definition

Club	Amount	Reference
Pumas UNAM	15 tons of provisions. 2 trailers came out of CU (Ciudad Universitaria) one with 32 tons, and the other with 29 tons of provisions.	[2] [3]
Cruz Azul	Football players gathered provisions at La Noria	[4] [5]
Monterrey	Gathered 3 tons of provisions (around 90 tons where gathered from the people in Monterrey). Lent their stadium to use for shelter.	[6] [7]
Chivas de Guadalajara	Together with Atlas, and Tecos, gathered 75 tons of provisions through a campaign titled Firmanos tu Ayuda (We sign your help). Donated 4 houses and scheduled a game on November 17 between Chivas and Chivas USA with all the money from the entrance to be donated as well as the money from the entrance against Jaguares de Chiapas.	[8] [9] [10] Pictures
Atlas	Together with Chivas, and Tecos, gathered 75 tons of provisions through the campaign Firmanos tu Ayuda.	[11] [12] Pictures
Tecos	Together with Atlas, and Chivas, gathered 75 tons of provisions through the campaign Firmanos tu Ayuda. They also sent doctors to Tabasco, and lent their stadium for the campaign.	[13] [14] Pictures
Veracruz	Gathered provisions at their stadium	[15]
Tigres	Will lend their stadium	[16]
Pachuca	Will gather provisions at their stadiums. Will donate 10% of the money gathered in their next game against Pumas.	[17] [18]
San Luis	Gathered provisions at their stadium and will donate money gathered at their next game.	[19]
Jaguares de Chiapas	Gathered provisions and lent their stadium	[20] [21]
Puebla	Lent their stadium and donated all the money obtained from their game against Chivas de Guadalajara	[22]
Monarcas Morelia	Gathered provisions and donated 30% of the money obtained at their game against Cruz Azul	[23]
Santos	Donated half of the money obtained from the game against Tigres	[24]
America	Helped through "Fundacion Televisa"	[25]

Special Mention:

• Two players from the Mexican national team, Guillermo Ochoa from Club America and Gerardo Torrado from Cruz Azul on November 11, 2007 will gather provisions in exchange for autographs at the Martí Pedregal mall. [26]
• Spanish club Real Madrid will give a certain percentage of the money gathered at their game against Mallorca and will provide a number in which people in Spain can make their donations. The total amount donated was off 100,000 USD [27] [28] [29]
• Televisa donated $5,000 dollars for every goal scored in the Jornada 16 of the Mexican Apertura 2007 tournament. 26 goals were scored thus, the donation was of $130,000USD.

International

International aid donated or pledged as of 6 November 2007 3:32 PM CDT

Nation	Amount	Reference
Cuba	50 doctors on secondment
Flemish Community (Belgium)	EUR 110,000
Republic of Ireland	EUR 1,000,000
Germany	EUR 250,000
United Kingdom	10 inflatable dinghies
Canada	CAD 500,000
Japan	YEN 14,000,000 (126,000 USD)	[30]
United States	USD 300,000

Residents of Mexico created posters to encourage aid to those affected by the floods. One of these shows an aerial view of the flooding; another shows a colossal Olmec head from La Venta, a well known local cultural landmark, in the middle of a flooded Villahermosa park. Small versions of the posters were distributed through online sites.

• English example
  English example
• Spanish example
  Spanish example

Economic Consequences

One week after the severe flooding, the capital of the state is in bankruptcy in part because flooding has affected diverse settlements. According to the Chamber of local Trade, almost 15 thousand establishments of the first square of the city suffered losses in 100 % of their infrastructure and in their inventories. This situation might cause a severe recession in the local economy, because many of these business beside having lost all their invested capital, have obligations with their suppliers, payments delayed with the Government and the salaries of the workers.

Looting

File:Mexicanflood.jpg

Hungry victims turn to looting

Drinking water and food shortages brought on by flooded roads in Tabasco has prompted several looting incidents at abandoned homes and businesses.

The worst incident took place Saturday morning when around 1,000 people overran a downtown shopping center in Tabasco, overwhelming law enforcement officials posted in the area, and making off with everything in sight, including televisions and home appliances.

"People are going hungry, we're aware of that," Tabasco Governor Andres Granier said on television after the looting incident, "but being hungry doesn't justify such behaviour and outright attacks."

Floods in Tabasco observed from the space

The floods that had affected Tabasco can be observed from the space, as it was showed by images from NASA. A system of low pressure was the phenomenon that unleashed strong and constant rains in the southwest of Mexico from October 28 and for several days. The Spectrum-radiometer of Image of Moderate Resolution of the satellite Aqua of NASA, captured the image of the floods on November 3, 2007. (Al que puso esto y edito' comentarios verdaderos que les toca ayudar a los saqueadores coloniales y el Vaticano. Pues no se escribe "the space." Se escribe "space" = no como mexicanismo al ingle's de "el espacio." Por Dios. The space of WHAT??

External links

• Homepage of the Government of the State of Tabasco
• Homepage of the Government of the State of Chiapas
• Tabasco Hoy newspaper (local)
• Diario de la Tarde newspaper (local)
• Photo gallery en El Universal - a major national daily
• Photo gallery in El Mundo - a major Spanish newspaper
• Flickr images of the flooding