After over a month of living in black sewage waters, residents of Mexico's Chalco remain anxious

(14 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chalco, Mexico - 28 August 2024
1. Drone shot of the flooded streets of Chalco ++MUTE++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chalco, Mexico - 18 August 2024
2. Wide of a man pushing a doghouse through a flooded street
3. Wide of a Red Cross raft rowing down a street
4. Wide of people walking through a flooded street
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Guadalupe Sarai Islas García, Chalco resident:
“The smell, as you can tell, is horrible. Supposedly they put liquids so the smell could go away. But the smell is still horrible. So, imagine eating here, imagine sleeping. You can’t."
6. Mid of a man entering a flooded room
7. Wide of a flooded kitchen
8. Wide of a stuffed animal hanging from the ceiling
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Guadalupe Sarai Islas García, Chalco resident:
“For over six days my baby was vomiting and had diarrhea. I took her to a doctor, and to another, and another and it wasn’t until I sent her away that she got a bit more stable. But there are many people (getting sick). Well it’s black waters. It’s sewage water.”
10. Mid of members of the Red Cross on a raft
11. Wide of a raft floating down a flooded street
12. Wide of a firefighter raft crossing a flooded street
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mexico City - 5 September 2024
13. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Luis Zambrano, Ecologist at UNAM:
“Suddenly we experienced this rainfall that, this change was caused by climate change and between the clogged sewage system, due to a lack of maintenance, and this rainfall that was different from previous rains, even though the same amount of water fell, these rains have been much more torrential, they have generated floods in lower areas. And one of the lowest areas in Mexico City is Chalco, because it was a lake."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chalco, Mexico - 9 September 2024
14. Close of García putting on rubber gloves
15. Various of García stacking bricks on the floor
16. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Guadalupe Sarai Islas García, Chalco resident:
“Our house is very dirty, a lot of water entered with mud. And when the water level lowered, the mud remained. All of the dirty mud from outside. Now there are a lot of insects, lots of mosquitoes. And now we are starting sanitation and cleaning work because, like I said, there is a lot of mosquitoes.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chalco, Mexico - 28 August 2024
17. Various drone shots of a machine driving through flooded street ++MUTE++
18. Various of a water pump truck removing water from a street
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mexico City - 5 September 2024
19. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Luis Zambrano, Ecologist at UNAM:
“What I am not noticing at all is that the government is understanding the seriousness of climate change in our cities. And act to change or prevent what is coming for us.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chalco, Mexico - 9 September 2024
20. Wide of a soldier throwing a disinfectant powder on a street
21. Close of a dirt road covered in disinfectant powder
22. Various of soldiers sweeping water into a drain
23. Wide of soldiers sweeping dust on a street
24. Drone shot of the disinfectant powder covering streets of Chalco ++MUTE++
STORYLINE:
Sewage-infused floodwaters have invaded streets, homes and businesses for over a month in Chalco, a low-income suburb southeast of Mexico City.
The low-lying area at the edge of what was once an ancient lake has long been plagued by seasonal flooding, but residents say this year has been worse, a combination of unchecked growth and failing infrastructure.
Experts say the combination of drainage failures and the geological structure of the area makes it more vulnerable to floods.
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[@JRZTXN]

What the F! This is unacceptable.