Deadly Storms, Delayed Aid Devastated Mexico's La Montana Indigenous Silvia Vinas - GlobalVoices
go to original October 14, 2013

Camp of indigenous people displaced by storms in La Montaña. (Tlachinollan Human Rights Center)

Two major storms, Tropical Storm Manuel and Hurricane Ingrid, hit Mexico last month, leaving behind 157 deaths according to the latest official reports. One of the hardest hit areas is La Montaña, a region in the southern state of Guerrero, considered one of the poorest and most marginalized areas in the country.

The Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, which is based in La Montaña, described the situation in an opinion piece published in the online version of local newspaper El Sur:

    In La Montaña, that forgotten region made up of 19 municipalities and more than 650 indigenous communities, the outlook is bleak. When the rains started, no one imaged the destruction they would leave in their wake. There was not a single warning about what was coming in order to take precautions. The rain simply started and lasted as if endless, with a devastating fury that had never been seen before.

    [...]

    The death count of La Montaña, which now amounts to over 30 people, must still be considered preliminary since the collapse of roads and paths have kept communities in the remote corners of Acatepec, Metlatónoc and Cochoapa isolated and unable to communicate.

The government has declared all 19 municipalities of La Montaña a natural disaster zone.

Read the rest at GlobalVoices

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