Rescue workers in Mexico's southern state of Tabasco are struggling to reach people clinging to rooftops as the worst flooding in 50 years traps thousands of residents.
The local governor (Andres Granier) says 300-thousand people are awaiting rescue from what he calls the "shocking" deluge. At least one million people - half the state's population - are affected. Photographs showed people trying to reach higher ground as rising water levels reached up to their necks.
Sandbags were stacked in several places to prevent flooding, but water was pouring through the barriers. Eighty percent of Tabasco is under water. The governor says the state has lost 100 percent of its crops. There has been one reported death in what President Felipe Calderon says is one of the worst natural disasters in Mexico's history. He has asked Mexicans to contribute bottled water, canned goods, personal items and other vital supplies to donation centers around the country.