Three months ago, a state in southern Mexico suffered flooding on a par with New Orleans.
But mention the word Tabasco and people are more likely to think of a hot sauce rather than a disaster zone, which says a lot for the coverage of the event compared with its American counterpart.
While the immediate relief needs of the people affected have been largely met, signs are emerging of the trauma damage inflicted on the population by probably the worst catastrophe that region of Mexico has ever seen.
Tropical storm Noel combined with two cold fronts brought severe floods to the state of Tabasco as 700mm of rain led to levees breaking and rivers overflowing.
A million people and more than 1,000 towns were affected, with 90 per cent of cultivated land inundated.
`The scale of the problem was huge,’ said Joao Martinez da Cruz, Tearfund’s Desk Officer for Mexico.
`You could compare it with the floods in New Orleans in 2005 but Mexico doesn’t have the infrastructure or government determination to help to the same level.’
Tearfund and our partner AMEXTRA (Mexican Association for Rural and Urban Transformation) responded immediately, embarking on a six-month programme focused on 11,000 people from the state capital Villahermosa and surrounding rural communities with an indigenous Chontal and Mestizo population.
Thanks to a £100,000 grant from the UK government’s Department For International Development, short-term relief assistance began with food and medical supplies being brought in.
Halfway through the response effort, relief work is now giving way to longer-term support such as rebuilding homes and livelihoods and replacing lost livestock, crops and trees.
AMEXTRA is working with local churches, particularly the Presbyterian Church, to reach out to indigenous Mayan people who are often overlooked by government aid.
Joao says, `It’s very encouraging to see that many churches from other parts of Mexico have got together to respond.’
But now, three months after the initial relief effort, the mental effect of the disaster is becoming apparent.
`It’s having an enormous psychological impact on the local population,’ says Joao.
‘Now most immediate relief needs have been addressed, attention is being given to providing psychological and trauma support to affected families.
‘Some people have lost everything - families, livestock and their land has been destroyed. It was good that AMEXTRA could buy relief items locally as this will help rebuild the local community. Many volunteers and particularly young people have offered their services during the relief efforts.’