BajaNomad

Mexico declares state of emergency in Tijuana due to heavy rains, landslides

Anonymous - 1-15-2005 at 01:05 AM

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/01/15/news/sandiego/20_...

By: Associated Press

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico on Friday declared a state of emergency in the border city of Tijuana due to heavy rains that caused landslides there this week, killing four people and damaging 140 homes, official said.

The declaration issued in a statement by the Interior Secretary means the city of about a million across from San Diego will receive federal funding to aid cleanup efforts.

On Tuesday, heavy rains triggered a mudslide in a poor Tijuana neighborhood that killed sisters Marta Angelica, 8, and Mari Carmen Tapia, 11. A separate landslide buried 5-year-old Jose Antonio Aguirre.

A 24-year-old woman also died Tuesday, a day after the car she was driving was swept up by floodwaters. Officials rescued her, but she died later at a hospital.

Officials were forced to rescue 115 people endangered by floodwaters and continued rainfall forced 2,500 others to abandon their homes. Shelters set up throughout the city took in close to 500 people.