Storm Hit Maxico City Suburb Visited By Ban Ki Moon

UNITED NATIONS: United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon made an unscheduled visit on Tuesday to a suburb of Mexico City to see the damage from a fierce storm that has caused flooding and killed at least two people.

Ban, who was visiting Mexico for meetings with the country’s President Felipe Calderon, headed to a northern suburb of the Mexican capital to observe the effects of severe flash floods.

“The secretary-general saw firsthand the recent devastation, which included destroyed homes and damaged public works,” a UN statement said, adding Ban “expressed sympathy and solidarity with the survivors.”

“Personally consoling victims and interacting with the newly displaced, the secretary-general offered the UN’s support and assistance at this time of need.”

Ban traveled by helicopter to the suburbs, where heavy rains from what is the most severe storm to hit Mexico this year caused severe flooding.

Local authorities said they had recovered the bodies of two people, a man and a woman, who drowned in the fast-rising waters.

The municipalities of Tlalnepantla and Atizapan were worst affected by the flooding, with water reaching up to five feet in some places, forcing the army to evacuate people from their homes.