[NYTr] Calderon Returns to Flood-Hit Tabasco

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

Calderon Returns to Flood-Hit Tabasco

Mexico, Nov 4 (Prensa Latina) Mexican President Felipe Calderon will
visit the state of Tabasco on Sunday for the third time in four days to
monitor the situation in that region, which has been seriously affected
by floods.

A communiqué from the presidential house in Los Pinos said that after
participating in a military ceremony in the Eighth Naval Region, the
president would travel to Tabasco in the afternoon to monitor the
rescue operations in the flood-hit areas.

According to reports from the state"s capital, Villahermosa, the volume
of water released by the Peñitas dam has decreased considerably, but a
new cold front is bringing moderate rainfalls to Tabasco.

Officials said that 300,000 people have lost their properties due to
the floods, and 70 percent of the southeastern Mexican state was
devastated by the heavy rains.

Local media said that at least 15 people were arrested for looting
commercial establishments and houses.

In order to protect the properties of those who are in shelters or
traveled to other regions of the country, the Defense Ministry
confirmed that another 1,000 soldiers have been deployed in Tabasco
over the past few hours.

According to the state"s government, more than 8,000 people have left
Villahermosa for the municipality of Cardenas to travel from there to
the neighboring states of Veracruz and Campeche.

A woman who arrived from Tabasco recently told Prensa Latina that she
had decided to come to the capital to stay with some relatives, because
her house was three meters under water and she got tired of waiting for
the assistance promised by local authorities.

In a recent press release, the Mexican Foreign Ministry said that many
shows of support have been received from abroad, especially from the
Mexican community in the United States.

It added that food and supplies are being collected in major Mexican
cities, as a result of which the third trailer laden with 25 tons of
supplies arrived in Villahermosa from the Federal District on Saturday
night.

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