Published: 24 October 2003
Flooding and rains across 14 Mexican states continue to place heavy demands on the relief stocks of the Mexican Red Cross which has distributed 400 tonnes of aid to date to families who have been left homeless or badly affected by the on-going disaster.
“Mexico has been hit hard with three heavy tropical storms over the last two months. Another storm is now threatening from the Pacific and there are several weeks left to run in the Atlantic Hurricane season.
“We badly need to provide additional support to the Mexican Red Cross to ensure they can meet existing needs and respond to any worsening of the situation,” said Iain Logan, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies operations manager for the Americas.
The appeal is for 735,000 Swiss francs (US$ 552,522) to provide basic household items including mattresses, hygiene materials and school supplies to assist the affected population to return to normal living. More than 38,500 people, mainly from farming communities in Chiapas, Guanajuato, Jalisco and Nayarit, will benefit from the distributions.