SILVER SPRING, Md. —A devastating cold front hit Mexico’s Gulf Coast in early November, bringing freezing wind, rains, and triggering severe flooding that forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is responding to the disaster, distributing emergency food supplies among survivors, the agency reports.

“Although the weather has improved and flood waters are nearly completely gone, the situation for thousands of families remains critical,” said Rafael Garcia, country director for ADRA Mexico. “What people are most in need of is food.”

On November 17, ADRA began distributing emergency food baskets for 500 families in Huimanguillo and Cárdenas, two severely affected municipalities in the state of Tabasco.  ADRA is targeting families that have been directly affected by the floods, and those who have been unable to work as a result of the disaster.

Each basket contains corn flour, rice, beans, tuna, oil, sugar, and salt, all of which are part of the local diet, added Garcia.

The intervention is being funded by ADRA International, the ADRA office in the Inter-American region located in Miami, Florida, and ADRA Mexico.

On November 1, Cold Front No. 9 struck eastern Mexico triggering flooding throughout the state of Tabasco, particularly in the municipalities of Cárdenas, Huimanguillo, Comalcalco, Cunduacán, Jalpa de Méndez and Paraiso. According to the Mexican Government, approximately 200,000 people in Tabasco have been affected by the disaster.

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To send your contribution to ADRA’s Emergency Response Fund, please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or give online at www.adra.org.

ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.

Author: Nadia McGill

Picture provided by: Reuters/Tomas Bravo, courtesy www.alertnet.org