Montemorelos University Joins Civil Protection Office in Evacuations, Assistance after Tropical Storm Alberto

Adventist school campus has a long tradition of lending a helping hand in times of need.

July 4, 2024 | Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico | Laura Marrero and Inter-American Diviison News

Montemorelos University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution in Montemorelos, Nuevo León, México, joined the regional Civil Protection Office to assist some of the people affected by the Tropical Storm Alberto, which hit the area on June 20, 2024. After requests from Civil Protection officers, the school agreed to become an evacuation center to assist dozens of people rescued in the aftermath of the storm, university leaders reported.

Alberto was described as a short-lived tropical cyclone that affected northern Mexico, and the U.S. States of Texas after traveling inland from the Gulf of Mexico. While heavy rainfall is welcome because it usually benefits water storage in dams, it often poses a significant risk to many people in vulnerable areas.

The rain resulted in flash floods in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. In the city of Monterrey, public transportation services were disrupted as segments of several roads were swept by the waters. Overall, four people lost their life, regional media outlets reported.

An Evacuation Center on Campus

After the June 20 storm, Civil Protection in Nuevo León and the Municipality of Montemorelos rescued 20 tourists who were left stranded in a group of cabins in Puerta de la Boca due to the rising of the Pilón River.

According to Civil Protection director Héctor Parada, those tourists could not move to safer ground in time and soon ran out of food. Although they managed to ask for help, weather conditions prevented an immediate response. However, once the weather allowed for an helicopter to reach the spot where they were stranded, Civil Protection officers contacted Montemorelos University, whose campus was not affected by the storm, to serve as the area evacuation headquarters.

“Tourists from Monterrey and other towns were evacuated to the campus of Montemorelos University, since other heliports had been disabled in the aftermath of the heavy rains,” Parada explained. “We contacted the university president [Ismael Castillo], who immediately gave us all we needed to carry out our rescue operations.”

School leaders shared that a makeshift operations center was set up on campus. The university not only provided the space but distributed water and food for the rescuers, pilots, and other people involved in the operation. In addition, security measures were implemented to protect the operation and prevent accidents.

The School Rallies to Assist the Community

Ramón Leal, who headed safety services at Montemorelos University for many years and is the current liaison with Civil Protection, highlighted the university’s ongoing willingness to help the community. “Our interest in helping the community around does not stop when conditions are not favorable,” Leal said. “In emergencies and moments of great need, we have historically opened our doors and helped in any way possible.”

Leal explained that the school campus is ideally prepared to serve in emergency situations. “In the past, the school has served as a shelter for dozens of people affected by Hurricane Gilberto [in 1988] and Alex [in 2010],” he said. “People were provided with a space to sleep, water, and hot meals. But this is the first time that the campus has been also used as a landing place for rescue helicopters.”

The operations center on campus stayed open till June 26. During those days, besides helping those who were rescued, the school launched an initiative to collect and distribute food items, water, medicines, and other basic-need items for the most affected communities in Montemorelos and nearby towns of Nuevo León.

School leaders reported how the whole educational community rallied to collect donations, which were then sent by helicopter to the affected areas. “University faculty, staff, and some students who volunteered participated collecting food, providing security assistance and logistical support at the operations center,” they said.

Collecting and Sorting Out Medicines

At the same time, La Carlota Hospital donated medicines for some of the most affected communities.

Alma Nidia Calderón Porras, a professor at the Schoof of Health of Montemorelos University, was one of the volunteers who helped sort out the donated medicines to be distributed among the communities in need. “We are sorting out medicines for four communities affected as we wait for the helicopter to come back,” Calderón said as she guided the group of volunteers. “We already sent four boxes to places where some patients are having some health issues, and we need to determine whether just to give them the medicines or, in some cases, airlifting them back to our hospital.”

Calderón explained that most medicines donated are used to treat high-blood pressure and diabetes, but donations also include allergy and some children’s medicines. “In those communities there are many children, and even though we have some medicines for them, we still need diapers and baby food,” she said.

Government Officials Share Their Gratitude

Montemorelos mayor Miguel Ángel Salazar visited Montemorelos several times during the operation. He expressed his support and gratitude for how prompt the school was to help in a time of crisis. Likewise, Nuevo León governor Samuel García also visited the university twice. He also thanked the educational community for their role in managing the crisis.

At the same time, Government officials in Montemorelos assisted providing information about the most affected areas, which suffered landslides, sinkholes, and where family homes were most affected. According to school leaders, more than a thousand items donated by the Montemorelos University community were airlifted to affected communities such as Los Encinos, Carranza, and Casillas in the municipality of Rayones, as well as to the communities of El Alto, Guadalupe, Puerta de la Boca, and La Trinidad in Montemorelos.

Castillo said that Montemorelos University is always ready to help those in need. “We are very pleased that our campus can be an operations center for Civil Protection, and we are very pleased to collaborate in that sense as a base for these operations because the important thing is to assist those who most need it,” he emphasized.

According to Castillo, this collaboration between Civil Protection and Montemorelos University in this emergency underscores the commitment of both institutions to protect and serve the community. “It demonstrates that even in the most difficult circumstances, showing solidarity and joining efforts can make a big difference,” he said.

Lizbeth Elejalde contributed to this report.