Cologne/ Villahermosa. The international network of the Order of Malta and Malteser International provide 200,000 Dollars for the victims of the floods in the Mexican State of Tabasco. "The dimension of the flood disaster becomes more and more dramatic. After the heavy rainfalls of last week, about 95 percent of the State of Tabasco are flooded", says Ingo Radtke, Secretary General of Malteser International, returning from Mexico today. "The situation is worse than described by the media so far. About one million people are directly hit by the floods, approximately 300,000 are still trapped. Since the water cannot drain off, there is the danger of an outbreak of cholera, malaria and den-gue fever."

In Villahermosa, the capital of the State, more than 3,200 people have fled to the cathe-dral and to other churches. There, they are being assisted by the Mexican Association of the Order of Malta. Together with volunteers of the local church, the members of the Mexican Association distribute clean drinking water, food, hygiene articles and blankets. Furthermore, on Tuesday, 30 doctors from Mexico City will depart with three tons of medicines to Villahermosa. As all the streets are impassable, the Mexican members of the Order of Malta are taking the relief supplies to the flooded area by helicopter.

Attention editorial offices! Ingo Radtke, Secretary General of Malteser Interna-tional, returned from Mexico today and is available for interviews. Please contact + 49 221 98 22 213 for further information.