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.There is also a river know as the Scott but the locals call it "Dirty Scott" because od the river's stench and brown color.

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 Mescalapa). 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.

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 seek emergency shelter. Over 1,000,000 residents have been affected.

"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.

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 stated 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 work begins to drain the city of Villahermosa.

International response

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

Nation	Amount	Reference
Cuba	50 doctors on secondment	[1]
Belgium	EUR 110,000	[2]
Republic of Ireland	EUR 1,000,000	[3]
Germany	EUR 250,000	[4]
United Kingdom	3 inflatable dinghies	[5]
United States	USD 300,000 and all of their illegal immigrant day laborers

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

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