64 people rescued by boat following flooding caused by sewage in Chalco, Mexico State

For nearly three weeks, thousands of residents of Chalco, a city of 174,700 inhabitants located in the State of Mexico, have been living in dire conditions due to severe flooding caused by unusually torrential rains.

The ongoing disaster has led to widespread health problems, forced evacuations and increasing demands for government intervention.

On Wednesday, Mexican Red Cross teams that traveled through flooded streets by boat rescued 64 residents from the worst-hit areas, bringing the total number of citizens rescued to more than 1,100 so far.

Most of the evacuees were taken to one of four temporary shelters, where they were provided with showers, basic medical care, food and other essential services. Wednesday’s operation also included the rescue of pets, some of which had been without food or water for days.

However, despite living in stagnant, contaminated water for days, many of the 3,600 affected residents refused to leave their homes for fear of being looted.

Some of these people are receiving help from residents of non-flooded areas who have taken it upon themselves to prepare and distribute hot meals by boat to those trapped in their homes.

“There were 16 children in a building who were so relieved when we brought them food,” Verónica Urbina, a local volunteer, told La Jornada newspaper. She also said the community solidarity has provided some comfort amid what could escalate into a full-scale public health crisis.

A two-minute report on the Chalco floods is available on CNN in Spanish.

The situation has become increasingly desperate, and complaints from residents have multiplied. During her visits to the flooded area, Mexico’s governor, Delfina Gómez Álvarez, has had to deal with residents angry at the apparent inaction of federal and state authorities.

Mayor José Miguel Gutiérrez, who, like Gómez, is a member of the Morena party, urgently requested the declaration of a state of emergency.

“There is already a risk of disease due to stagnant sewage, and the situation is only getting worse,” Gutiérrez said in a radio interview with journalist Joaquín López-Dóriga. “It’s a disaster,” he added, noting that the water level has dropped at times, but then “it rains on us and the water level rises again.”

He also highlighted the need to replace a 30-year-old sewer system with a garbage collector that prevents floodwaters from receding.

The most affected neighborhoods are Culturas de México, San Miguel Jacalones and Emiliano Zapata. All are located in the center of the city, also known by its official name of Chalco de Díaz Covarrubias, about an hour’s drive from Xochimilco, in southern Mexico City.

This week, angry residents loudly slammed the doors of a building where Gov. Gómez was meeting with authorities about flooding in Chalco. Other residents blocked part of the Mexico City-Cuautla highway on Tuesday.

And according to the newspaper El Financiero — citing what residents have told reporters and written on social media — the military and state police sent to the area to help “are doing nothing.”

“The state police just eat and make phone calls,” El Financiero quoted people as saying. “When people bring us food, the state police and the municipal police come to eat.”

Mexico’s National Water Commission (Conagua) issued a press release Thursday saying it had “deployed personnel and specialized equipment to help clear three blockages (in the drainage system) caused by the accumulation of waste.”

This was a job that “was beyond the capabilities of municipal and state teams,” the statement added.

Conagua also said it and other agencies were dredging some areas, cleaning other drainage channels, pumping water from affected areas and reinforcing eroding river banks.

With reports of The financier, The Day And Lopez-Dóriga Digital