Flooding in Mexico: 3 killed, Thousands Flee
November 5, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Flooding in Mexico: 3 killed, Thousands Flee, Flooding caused by heavy rains along Mexico’s southern Gulf Coast has drenched Tabasco state, killing three people and forcing more than 44,000 people from their homes.
Tabasco Governor Andres Granier said homes in 91 communities have been flooded. The federal government declared a state of emergency in the communities of Cardenas and Huimanguillo and troops were helping to rescue people trapped in their homes. Water in some streets in these communities reached one and a half metres. Residents tried to rescue what they could from their homes, others lost everything. In the affected communities of Cardenas and Huimanguillo, 2,200 bundles of basic food products were distributed as well as 1,000 mattresses. Some 34 temporary shelters in these communities were also set up in the region of La Chontalpa, where more than 10,000 people are staying in refuges. The figure could increase in the next few days.
Local authorities said the heavy rains had damaged health centres, schools, churches, homes and could’ve affected 80,000 hectares of harvesting lands. Conagua, the national water commission, said river levels in the state were stable, only Samaria River was 56 cms (22inches) above its critical scale. Civil Protection authorities said sandbag and clay barriers were being placed around the state capital Villahermosa. Heavy rains have also affected Chiapas and the neighbouring state of Veracruz. Residents have expressed their frustration that government infrastructure projects have not prevented annual flooding in Tabasco. Mexico faced huge floods in 2007 when weeks of heavy rain put the banana-growing state of Tabasco under water in a disaster that cost insurers $700 million, according to an industry group and left some 800,000 people homeless.
Flooding in Mexico: 3 killed, Thousands Flee was first posted on November 5, 2009 at 3:25 pm.
United Nations to Pull Non-essential Foreign Staff from Afghan
November 5, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
United Nations to Pull Non-essential Foreign Staff from Afghan, The United Nations said on Thursday it would start evacuating hundreds of its international staff from Afghanistan after an attack by Taliban militants last month killed five foreign staff.
UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said the United Nations would relocate about 600 of its roughly 1,100 international staff in total, with some being moved to safer sites within Afghanistan while the rest would be withdrawn from the country. “We will be looking as a temporary measure to relocate some staff within the country and some staff outside of the country, while we can secure accommodation, where proper security measures can be provided for staff, as a temporary measure. We estimate that somewhere in the region of about 12 percent of our staff would be affected across Afghanistan. Now some of those staff may be relocated in other locations here within Kabul,” Siddique said. The spokesman also said that does not mean their activities in Afghanistan will stop. “Absolutely not. We remain committed to insuring that all of our programmes and our activities continue. But obviously following the events of last week we really do need to have a look at how we can ensure that our staff can continue those programmes and activities, but at the same time we can protect their safety,” he added.
United Nations to Pull Non-essential Foreign Staff from Afghan was first posted on November 5, 2009 at 3:42 pm.
