5,000 plucked from rooftops as water recedes

THOUSANDS of people were plucked from rooftops in southern Mexico yesterday as water receded after flooding that left 800,000 homeless in Tabasco state, authorities said.

The army evacuated 5,000 people in a four-hour operation with 14 helicopters, police official Daniel Montiel said, as more food and bottled water was trucked in to crammed shelters that were struggling to provide enough meals and beds.

Army officials estimated another 80,000 people were still trapped in flooded homes. Aerial images showed the area resembling a huge lake with just the tops of roofs poking through.

More than 30,000 people have been evacuated by the army and navy teams in helicopters or boats, civil protection officials said, despite problems with fog and rain and with flood victims trying to grab onto hovering helicopters.

Only one death has been reported in Tabasco, although in the poor southern state of Chiapas local government officials reported four deaths on Sunday after rain-swollen rivers burst their banks, damaging thousands of homes and 16 bridges.