Throngs flee Mexico floods

At least 80 percent of
Tabasco state was under water.

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico (AP) — Some loaded their possessions into grocery carts, wheeling what they could save over knee-deep floodwaters. Others jumped from fast-disappearing rooftops and swam to higher ground.

Helicopters, boats and even jet skis ferried the rest away from the rising murky water.

Tens of thousands of residents abandoned Mexico’s swamped Gulf coast region Friday, some hiking out on foot and others piling into buses brought in to carry refugees to nearby towns.

President Felipe Calderon flew overhead, and the extent of the flooding was clear from the sky — Tabasco state seemed like an inland sea with only rooftops and treetops protruding from the water.

Tabasco floods every year, but these waters surprised even residents — a week of heavy rains caused rivers to overflow, drowning at least 80 percent of the oil-rich state. Much of the state capital, Villahermosa, looked like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with water reaching to second-story rooftops and desperate people awaiting rescue.

At least one death was reported and nearly all services, including drinking water and public transportation, were shut down. The flood affected more than 900,000 people in the state of 2 million — their homes flooded, damaged or cut off by high water.

Workers tried to protect Villahermosa’s famous Olmec statues by placing sandbag collars around their enormous stone heads, and built sandbag walls to hold back the Grijalva River in the state capital.

But the water rose quickly, forcing soldiers to evacuate the historic city center. The dikes failed Thursday night, and water swamped the capital’s bus station and open-air market.

On Friday, the rain gave way to sunshine, but tens of thousands of people were still stranded on rooftops or in the upper floors of their homes. Rescue workers used tractors, helicopters, jet skis and boats to ferry people to safety, while others swam through water infested by poisonous snakes.

“This is not just the worst natural catastrophe in the state’s history but, I would venture to say, one of the worst in the recent history of the country,” Calderon said Friday during an emergency meeting with state officials.

The president ordered the armed forces and federal police to maintain order and prevent looting, and asked residents to remain calm. He canceled a trip to Panama, Colombia and Peru.

A 10-inch natural gas pipeline sprang a leak after flooding apparently washed away soil underneath it, but it was unclear if other facilities operated by the state-run Petroleos Mexicanos were damaged or if oil production was affected.

Mexicans rallied around the disaster, with people across the country contributing money and supplies.