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This is an update on the Baja California floods of last week.  I arrived home last night at 2:30 a.m. from a two day visit to the area. 

This is the story of San Simon.  San Simon is a community of over a hundred hoses and is inhabited by people who work in the local tomato greenhouses and packing houses.  They live simple lives with only the most basic of possessions.  I

This was the strongest storm of the past fifty years.  The rains were at least as heavy as they were here.  Where the infrastructure held, the problems were mostly wind related.  There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of roofs that need to be fixed or replaced along the 45 or so mile strip of the Valley.

The rain lasted for three full days.  After twelve hours of continuous rain, the town of San Simon was hit by a violent flash flood that turned the streets into deep and raging rivers.  Trees and power poles were uprooted and paved roads were undermined.  The torrent of water and mud raged through the homes.  Anything hit by the two to three foot river was ruined.  Stoves, refrigerators, mattresses, cooking utensils, clothing, furniture, and just about everything the people owned was either invaded by the mud and ruined or washed away altogether.

Entire big trees washed were taken out and washed down the street.  The pastor, people of the Free Methodist Church from neighboring El Papalote, and students at their seminary drove their bus, a pickup truck and joined local farmers with tractors in the area in a successful effort to rescue their neighbors.  Neither army troops nor rescue units would not enter.

Some of the waterways were several feet deep. The current was filled with debris as well as the possessions of the families in San Simon. Incredibly, they were able to get everybody out except for two families who had to spend the night, one on their rooftops and the other in the bed of a large truck.

Miraculously, there were no injuries or loss of life in San Simon.

Almost the entire area was ruined.  The roads into and out of the Valley were washed out.  Four major bridges had sections washed out or were undermined.  The communities were cut off from supplies and aid for six days. 

Pastor Ramon, of the Free Methodist Church, has turned their seminary into a shelter.  At present there are an average of 100 people staying there.  The congregation is preparing 300 meals each day to feed them.  They only have 30 mattress pads and 30 UMCOR blankets that were provided through the Methodist Border Ministry Network and the United Methodist Joint Commission

Pastor Ramon has been able to provide clothing that, so far, has been adequate.  He will need more in the future to meet their needs as time goes on. 

The challenge is to support the people of San Ramon by provided needed assistance with emergency food.  This need will continue until the homes are re-outfitted with kitchen appliances and utensils, a task that will likely take months.  In addition, more clothing will be needed. 

The greatest task will be to help with the reconstruction of homes that have been damaged or destroyed altogether.

Watch the "You Tube" video to see a video taken by "Chencho," the owner of one of the local tomato farms as he drove his Humvee through the rivers picking people up and taking them to safety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtfoygrAGUo

The water reached a depth of twice that shown in the video.  You can also see the truck filled with soldiers who did nothing while the local church people and the man in the Hummer did their jobs.  You will also see the vehicles from the Free Methodist Church as they did their job. 

The water grew deeper and access could only take place with farm tractors that were able to pluck people from where the water and take them to a road where the church bus could take them to the safety of the shelter at the seminary. 

UMCOR has committed funds to help with the feeding of the people in the many shelters throughout the Valley as well as families who can live in their homes but for whom their meager financial resources have stopped along with their agricultural jobs.

This leaves the clothing and items to reequip their homes, along with construction materials and work teams.  This disaster is, on a smaller scale, every bit as large as the flooding of New Orleans and Mississippi by the hurricane.  The human suffering is, at present, just as great.  The good news is that there is employment in the area, even if it is low pay and probably will be sporadic for the immediate future as the farms recover, as well.

In addition to money, materials, and household items, we will need work teams to help rebuild San Simon and other communities, as well.  Please be in prayer about how you can become involved in showing Jesus' love to our neighbors, both as an individual and as a congregation.

Murray Hawkins, President

UM Joint Commission

murray@mexicomissionproject.org