ADRA assisting flood victims in Mexico, Cambodia

October 07, 2013 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Author: ADRA Staff

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is delivering supplies to those affected by floods in Mexico. Image courtesy ADRA International/ANN

In Mexico last month, two tropical storms triggered flooding that affected more than 400,000 people and left 139 dead, according to a country official. In Cambodia, flooding has disrupted the lives of 80,000 families and killed 30 people, a disaster management official said.

ADRA Mexico has assisted nearly 8,000 people. Agency workers are collaborating with the Mexican Red Cross and municipal agencies to provide food, hygiene kits and shelter for those who have been evacuated. ADRA is working in the states of Guerrero, Veracruz, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi.

ADRA Mexico Director Cesar Hernandez Mercado said the agency has focused on the needs of the most vulnerable people, but many communities are still awaiting assistance.
“We greatly appreciate the immediate response we’ve received; however, there is suffering everywhere and we continue to need additional support,” Hernandez said.

Financial support has been offered by ADRA International and ADRA Inter-American Division.

In Cambodia, ADRA has created distribution sites for flood victims to obtain emergency supplies. Victims are receiving food kits containing rice, fish and cooking oil. Tarps are being distributed as makeshift shelters for families displaced from their homes. ADRA is working in collaboration with the Cambodian Red Cross, Humanitarian Response Forum and the Provincial Committees on Disaster Management.

ADRA staff took supplies from the distribution center to the homes of some elderly residents who couldn’t travel to the site. Chea Soeun of the Krokor village in Kratie province said she was not expecting to receive any aid. “I am surprised and so thankful for this food,” she said.

Emanuel da Costa, ADRA International’s director for Emergency Management, said the agency would continue to help local victims now as well as when the flooding subsides.

“We ask our ADRA and church community for their continued prayers and support as we bring aid to Mexico and Cambodia and help in the rebuilding in the coming weeks and months,” da Costa said.