Although my Spanish wasn't good enough to comprehend all of this news segment I found on YouTube, it would be hard to miss the gist of it, particularly the interview with the tearful man who was surveying the remains of his home. Here's a report from a boating couple who have their vessel here in San Carlos, their home in Alamos:
The situation in Alamos is dire. 20 people are dead and more missing. Many homes have been destroyed. Many are relying on soup kitchens run by the main hotels. Relief IS pouring into Alamos through Mexican aid agencies and USA based efforts.And this from Teresita, the owner of the Red Door B&B in Alamos:
our neighbors in the chalaton suffered terrribly. upwards of 50 dead and god only knows how many houses were taken by the mud slide and waters.Teresita is coming to San Carlos tomorrow to pick up donations at Rescate, the local rescue/emergency clinic. I have my two bags of clothing, plus quite a lot of food our friend Bugs passed on to us off the boat he's preparing to sell tomorrow. I'm not fond of SUVs, but I hope Teresita will be driving a big vehicle.
Emergency food and clothing will help many of the hurricane victims, but it's going to take a long time for the citizens of Alamos to recover, from the looks of the damage in the YouTube videos. What happens next, when the public attention span has been diverted to some other matter and the people are still barely surviving?
I have never lived in a community that was suddenly impoverished by a cataclysmic event. Once my office was flooded, another time my home, but my losses were minimal because it was a creeping flood rather than a wall of water so I had time to remove anything I cared about. Guess I've just been lucky.
Not to belabor the obvious, but it could happen anywhere, to anyone, at least anyone in the middle or low-income classes. I suppose the very wealthy will always have their refuges. But the rest of us are vulnerable, no matter how prepared we are. People used to a certain standard of living can be reduced within hours to the most basic level of survival, looking for clean water to drink, food, dry clothes and a place to get out of the rain. Even the ATMs wouldn't be there for us, and cash might not be of any use anyway. That would certainly have an effect on our perception of poverty, wouldn't it?
P.S. Linda, who blogs atGood2Go2Mexico posted about working in the emergency food kitchen, called DIF, plus more reports on the extent of the damage and what efforts are being made to assist the people of Alamos. Bravo!