In a poor farming village about 20 miles south of Mexicali, the Baja government was setting up a relief center Monday to distribute blankets, food and water for those whose homes were damaged or flooded. Hundreds of people, mostly families, have begun lining up, some of them walking miles to get to the center.
Scattered throughout Colonia de la Puerta, hundreds of ramshackle homes made of adobe or brick, with tin or tar-paper roofs, collapsed after Sunday’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake. Many people are sleeping outside or in tents.
Government workers were busy Monday setting up a large tent to provide shelter while social service agencies were setting up to offer assistance. There were no reports of injuries.
The Mexican Army is here to help keep control and President Felipe Calderon is scheduled to arrive Monday afternoon.
The lines at the relief center were mostly orderly and government officials said they did not anticipate any problems.
“We all know each other in this area,” said Hugo Flores, a government worker. “No one will cause a problem because, if he does, we will know him.”
“This is a seismic area so we try to be prepared,” said Marco Antonio, Undersecretary for Public Security for Baja. “But this was bigger than we anticipated. We’re doing our best to put things together.”
Maria del Carmen, 21, said she and her family arrived at the relief center after walking seven miles from their home. “We have nothing,” she said. “We have no water for our family. We need help.”
Mario Jimenez, 41, said he lived in an area where the canals broke and flooded houses. “There was water everywhere, like a big rain, except it came in the house this time,” he said.
Evelyn Evangelista, 43, said her family’s tortilla factory was heavily damaged. The roof and walls collapsed and there is no electricity or water. “This shop was our whole life,” she said. “But at least our family survived.”
Roberto Gonzalez-Chavez, 45, and his common law wife, Virginia Rodriguez-Felix, said their whole house fell. “Thank god we are still alive,” Rodriguez-Felix said.
For now, the couple are sleeping in their backyard. They have no water or power. Later today, the president’s helicopter is expected to land in a ballpark behind their house.
— Tony Perry in Colonia de la Puerta, Mexico