Flooding affects hundreds of thousands in Mexico's Tabasco state

Some 115,000 people have been affected by heavy flooding in Mexico's Gulf coast state of Tabasco after days of massive rains, officials said. As of Tuesday, the number of people affected has reached 114,804 and Governor Andres Granier said it is likely to hit 120,000, with eight of the state's 10 major rivers overflowed and many houses, roads and crops left damaged. The military said they have implemented emergency contingency plans known as DN-III-E in both Tabasco and the neighboring state of Chiapas. Granier said his state is mulling expanding emergency declarations from 8 municipalities to 13. Tabasco's health chief Luis Felipe Graham said authorities are taking steps to avoid the spread of diseases such as acute respiratory infections and diarrhea. In 2009, Tabasco also suffered heavy rains that affected more than 200,000 people, with over 80 percent of the state flooded.