Flooding and Dengue in Mexico

Los fuertes vientos y la lluvia que acompañan al huracán 'Dolly' han golpeado Tamaulipas, estado del noreste de México, fronterizo con EEUU, donde más de 13.100 personas han sido evacuadas de las 23.000 previstas, sin que hasta el momento se haya informado de víctimas.

Tropical Storm Dolly has the potential to reach hurricane strength as it charges up the Yucatan Peninsula and across to Texas' Gulf Coast, AccuWeather.com reports. Dolly is the first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season to present a potential menace to oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm, which crossed the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday, is 65 miles east-northeast of Progreso, Mexico as of 7:00 am CDT on July 21. It is traveling at a quick 16 mph, and has maximum-sustained winds of 50 mph.

Dolly is expected to intensify as it crosses the warm open waters of the Gulf, and could easily swell to hurricane strength on Tuesday, July 22. Landfall on the Mexico-Texas border is expected on Wednesday, July 23, with the potential to generate life-threatening flash floods across South Texas and northern Mexico.

Many parts of southern and central Mexico have been flooded after more than a week’s worth of heavy rains.

The southern Mexican state of Oaxaca has been worst affected. More than 7,000 people were evacuated from their homes as flood waters continued to rise. So far, at least five people have lost their lives in the floods. Heavy rain and floods have also affected the oil-producing state of Veracruz along the Gulf of Mexico coast.

The rainy season is now underway across much of Mexico. Since last Wednesday, the recent heavy rains have been particularly severe and persistent. Mexico’s rainy season starts around late May or early June and continues through into September and sometimes into October.

Por su parte, el Jefe de la Jurisdicción Sanitaria No. 2 Dr. Ernesto Lavín Hernández, informó por lo que compete a esta dependencia que abarca cinco municipios de la zona sur, se han realizado ocho mil consultas, detectándose enfermedades gastrointestinales y de la piel.

            Asimismo señaló que se han registrado 30 casos de dengue clásico y 6 de tipo hemorrágico.

Para controlar la aparición del mosquito transmisor del dengue, las brigadas -según un informe oficial- aplican nebulización de los albergues ocupados, así como en 143 hectáreas alrededor de estos.

Además se aplicó larvicida en todos los 56 albergues y una nebulización ambiental en localidades afectadas con lo cual protegieron a más de 36 mil personas.

Low pressure system off coast of Sinaloa and area of instability have caused seasons first rains in La Paz, capital of Baja California Sur. There has been virtually no electricity or water in the entire city since this morning. Forecast high is 100 F. Bummer.

There are 17 cases of DENGUE Fever there, too. Dengue, for those who don't know, will not kill you. It will at least make you terribly sick and miserable.

Tlatenango, Zacatecas has had a tragic flood event this morning caused by flooding of the Jaloco river. Over 15,000 people affected, 3 confirmed dead, 22 missing.

Veracruz and Tamaulipas are really in bad shape. There are 150,000 people who have lost homes and belongings in the area. Rivers there that have caused damage, along with mudslides, are rivers Panuco and Tamesi. Brigades are out to address health and epidemic issues- Tamaulipas declared a state of emergency recently due to DENGUE.

Three dead due to severe flooding in Tamaulipas. Heavy rains drench north-eastern Mexico, killing three as flooding continues. As aid is provided to thousands of affected residents, river levels start to decrease.

Fisherman and resident, Felipe Cardona states, "We didn't leave because we became confident, as the water had gone up before but not as much as now. It's going up nearly as it went up 15 years ago. It reached the window and still it went up two inches more. All we did was lift our things off the ground."

Heavy rains continued to cause severe flooding on Thursday (July 17, 2008) in the north-eastern state of Tamaulipas in Mexico, killing three people. Aid has been provided to thousands of affected residents as river levels have started to decrease, authorities said.

Tlaltenango, state of Zacatecas, Mexico, 18 July 2008, where at least three people died and another 23 remain missing due to the Jaloco river's overflow that reached 2m and flooded 10 of the 15 neighborhoods in the city of about 50,000 inhabitants.