POZA RICA, Veracruz. “We were under water and now under the mud”, dice Maribela resident of the Lázaro Cárdenas neighborhood, after the overflow of the Cazones Riverwhich caused one of the greatest devastations in the state, the likes of which had not been seen since 1999.
A week after the historic rains that fell on Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Veracruzin the latter the homes that lost everything number in the thousands.
It was during the early hours of October 9 that the flooding of the river hit with unbeatable force, leaving thousands of families isolated who had to climb to the roofs of their houses to be safe.
According to testimonies, the water rose between one and 2.5 meters in a matter of minuteswhich barely gave a few opportunities to evacuate, while others, those who live near the river, watched with fear and bewilderment as the waters covered their property.
At least six colonies remain in emergency and in its streets flooded with mud, refrigerators, chairs, tables, clothes, belongings, entire rooms and even stuffed animals accumulate that, on more than one occasion, those who clean confuse whether the fur is from a dead “lomito”.
Among the rubble there was a smell of putrefaction, which it is no longer known if it was from an animal under the rubble or from stagnant water.
To Guadalupe Hernandezresident of the area, It is urgent that the Government send more supportas it ensures that the water is still at a very high level.
A complaint that was joined by another neighbor, who vented her despair on a Marine, reproaching that, in the 1999 flood, by then the Government had already provided them with support.
In contrast, Leonardo García told 24 HOURS be grateful to the Army and the Marinawhose elements have helped them clean their homes.
The city seems to live of realitiesthe day-to-day, since life does not stop, and the emergency, where residents and elements of the Armed Forces face tons of mud, with the latent risk of contracting an infection.
In the municipality, the Armada It has thousands of troops deployed, cleaning the streets, monitoring the area and distributing the groceries that arrive; The work is such that naval personnel maintain night shifts.
There is still much to do and rebuildbut the residents, like riverside trees with their roots clinging to the earth, are willing to get up.