Word: villahermosa
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Images of filthy water engulfing Mexico's southern city of Villahermosa as residents clung to rooftops were reminiscent of the flooding that devastated New Orleans in 2005. But unlike Katrina, this natural disaster caused no anarchy or four-figure death toll. Amid heavy rains, President Felipe Calderón ordered in thousands of troops two days before the most damaging flooding hit. When the riverbanks finally burst, more than 60 helicopters were buzzing through the skies, carrying out nonstop rescue and relief missions. Calderón and half his Cabinet then touched down in Villahermosa four times in a week, giving televised...
Heavy problems from the flooding remain, though. Water damaged the homes of almost a million people and devastated crops of corn, bananas and beans. Villahermosa resident Jesus Hilario returned home to find his crops completely washed away. "I could be forced to go and work in El Norte," Hilario said, referring to the U.S., where 11 million of his countrymen labor. Getting Hilario to stay and rebuild will prove to be Calderón's greatest test...
There have been three confirmed dead in Villahermosa, although there are still dozens of people missing and many more have died in landslides unleashed by the rains in the nearby mountains of Chiapas. While some looters broke into Villahermosa's stores and houses, the robbery was on a relatively small scale as police handed out food, water and medical packages and contingents of rifle-wielding soldiers stood on every corner. Navy and marine boats also took rapid control of the waterways that sprung up on the engulfed streets that were infested by dog carcasses. "You never felt that the government...
...However, Villahermosa's waterlogged streets have not shed all good light on Mexico's return to multi-party democracy. As in New Orleans, there are questions about whether this was a disaster waiting to happen and could have been avoided with the construction of better water management systems. The swampy state of Tabasco, where Villahermosa is situated, also suffered floods in 1999, prompting the federal government to award millions of dollars to strengthen the dam and pump system. That money has not been all accounted for. "Right now we have a crisis to resolve," Interior Secretary Francisco Ramirez Acuna responded...
...homes of almost a million people, or about half of Tabasco's population. It also devastated crops of corn, bananas and beans that provide the livelihood for thousands. After water levels finally started receding this week, Jesus Hilario left his shelter in a schoolhouse on the outskirts of Villahermosa to find his patches of corn and bananas completely washed away. "I could be forced go and work in El Norte," Hilario said, referring to the United States, where 11 million of his countrymen labor. "Now I have nothing to live on here." With reporting by Dolly Mascareñas/Mexico City