Mexico floods displace 800,000; Baptists respond

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico — Hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their homes in southern Mexico after that region’s worst-ever flooding, prompting assistance from several Baptist groups in the United States. When more than a week of heavy rains caused the Grijalva River to burst its banks, floods displaced up to 800,000 people in the state of Tabasco. At least 19 people died and dozens are missing and presumed dead after a Nov. 4 mudslide buried the San Juan de Grijalva community in the state of Chiapas, reported the Los Angeles Times. The International Mission Board sent $10,000 to Baptists in the region. A disaster relief team from Texas also responded with emergency food service and water-purification units. In addition, Baptist World Alliance contributed $10,000.

“Because of the heavy rains and the flood, the people have lost all their belongings — houses, vehicles, food, clothes and personal items,” said C.P. Raul Castellanos Fernandez, chief executive officer of the National Baptist Convention of Mexico. Tabasco, one of Mexico’s poorest and most isolated areas, suffered a similar deluge and mudslide in 1999 that left more than 600 people dead.