More than 10,000 members in the Tuxtla and Tuxtla Grijalva stakes and the Arriaga District lost belongings or homes in the worst flooding in this area in 40 years.
The stakes and district are on the Pacific Coast near the border of Guatemala, an area hit hard the first week in September by a tropical storm. Heavy rains from the storm system also led to flooding more than 1,700 miles up the coast in northern Mexico, where the homes of 75 families in the Alameda Branch in the town of Guasave were inundated. On Aug. 23, across the nation along the Mexico-U.S. border west of San Antonio, Texas, a separate storm dumped 14 inches ofwater in an hour's time on Ciudad Acuna, part of the Acuna District, and flooded the homes of some 22 LDS families. The homes of nine LDS families in the adjacent community of Del Rio, Texas, were also flooded, and four homes were destroyed. One member, Caldelario Paredes of the Del Rio 2nd Branch, a recent convert who was confined to a wheelchair, was drowned in the Aug. 23 flood, said Pres. Rene Garza of the Eagle Pass Texas District.But the most severe flooding destroyed the homes of some 50 LDS families in the Tapachula area. However, no members were killed or seriously injured in Tapachula, nor were any meetinghouses damaged. Missionaries in the Mexico Tuxtla-Gutierrez Mission helped distribute emergency supplies to those affected.
The torrential rain-fed waters along the Pacific Coast in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas caused the deaths of more than 100 people and flooded the homes of more than 20,000 people. Some 600,000 people were isolated for a period of days from relief supplies during the floods from Hurricane Isis because of washed out roads and bridges.
In Chiapas, six days of heavy rains from a tropical storm fell upon the beaches and mountains. Multiplying the effects of the storm were the mountains that funneled waters of the heavy rains into torrential streams that nearly submerged 50 coastal villages and washed away homes. Every branch of the Arriaga District is in a coastal village, and leaders said the 3,000 members of the district were severely affected. They were among those who waited out the storm on rooftops as waters swept by.
Armando Gaona, director of leadership services in the Church's Mexico City area office, said some cash for families to purchase food and water, and six tons of food and clothing have been distributed to provide emergency relief to the members in these stakes and district.
In addition, some 30 stakes in Mexico City, some 600 miles to the northwest, and others nearby are being asked to contribute five tons of food and clothing each to be distributed to those suffering from the massive effects of the flooding.
"Members in nearby stakes are spontaneously organizing to bring help," Brother Gaona said. "The members in the flooded areas have been instructed to utilize lines of priesthood authority, from the stake presidents to the bishops, from the bishops to the ward priesthood leaders, and from the priesthood leaders to the home teachers."
He said home teachers in the affected areas immediately conducted a survey to determine the needs and conditions of the members, and what items they needed most.
Many of the homes in the area are simple and small and easily damaged by the water, he said.
"There are some villages where we can't enter because all the roads and bridges are broken or washed away," said Brother Gaona. "While we are not able to travel to these populations, we have sent them cash by way of the local bank to purchase food and water."
Farther north some 1,700 miles in Guasave, members in the Los Mochis Mexico Stake in two wards and a branch also experienced heavy rains from the storm. The rains in the mountains filled the Sinaloa River that flooded lowlands. The residents climbed on their homes to escape the fast-flowing, fast-rising current, said Jean and DeeAnne Whetten, welfare agents in the Mexico North Area. The current left water lines from four to six feet high on the sides of the houses, said Brother Wetten.
"Families put their belongings on the roofs," he said. "They put televisions and even small refrigerators on their roofs. Most lost their mattresses and other household belongings."
Sister Whetten said that Hector Trejo, his wife and several of their small grandchildren climbed on the roof in the evening and spent the night and half the next day there until a boat came to take them off. Their food, newly purchased in anticipation of the storm, floated away on the water in bags, along with sacks of clothing Sister Trejo couldn't hold against the surging current.
However, they managed to drag a large water container to the roof. Another woman on a nearby roof had food, and made a small fire and cooked tortillas for the Trejos, then put the food in a plastic bag and dropped it into the swirling waters that carried it to the Trejos' rooftop where it was eagerly and thankfully retrieved.
Pres. Arnoldo Felix, counselor in the Los Mochis Mexico Stake, and Pres. Rogelio Quintero of the Alameda Branch helped coordinate the relief efforts in the Guasave area.
"We were very impressed with the faithfulness and dedication of the priesthood leaders," Sister Whetten said. "They left everything else and devoted all their efforts to the members' well-being.
"The members were very cooperative and grateful for everything done for them. They had a good attitude and were thankful for their testimonies, for their lives, and everything the gospel did for them."
She said nearby stakes were sending people to help in the clean-up efforts.
The Whettens also traveled to Ciudad Acuna on the U.S.-Mexico border the last week in August to help assist members who were flooded following a heavy rain in which 14 inches of water fell in one hour. The rains filled a ravine with water 33 feet deep that washed away the home of a widow with an invalid daughter.
Other homes were damaged as the floods from four to six feet high washed raw sewage up through sewage lines, and dead animals that had drowned in the high waters through automobiles and homes, ruining beds, clothing, appliances and other belongings.
Sister Whetten explained that the rains came at night in August when the families were asleep and thus the people had no warning of the floods. One family was awakened when their baby, who slept on the floor, began to cough in the rising waters.
Also hit by floods were wards in Del Rio, Texas, where the runoff waters were swifter, although fewer members were affected. Members from both Del Rio and Ciudad Acuna worked together to provide relief, said Sister Whetten.
"It was a wonderful thing to see those brethren from both sides of the border working together as a priesthood unit," she said.
Pres. Homero Gutierrez H. of the Acuna District, and Pres. Rene Garza of the adjacent Eagle Pass Teras District provided leadership in Acuna and Del Rio, she said.
The members in the Acuna and Del Rio area received an emergency shipment of food, clothing and mattresses from the Deseret Industries Sort Center in Salt Lake City that arrived Aug. 30. Members from both sides of the border helped unload the shipment and it was dispersed among all the people as needed.
