MAP International is hurrying relief and emergency supplies to thousands of people in Mexico who have been stranded or injured by intense flooding and mudslides.

Heavy rains have sent torrents of neck-high muddied waters rushing through the southeastern state of Tabasco, on the Guatemala border, causing nearly 1 million people to flee to the nearby states of Veracruz and Campeche. The flooding, which began when the rising Grijalva River began bursting through walls of sandbags, is the most severe the region has seen in 50 years. President Felipe Calderon called the flood one of the worst natural catastrophes in Mexico's modern history. Flood levels reached 19 feet in some areas.

Mudslides exacerbated the situation, engulfing an entire village of 100 houses in the neighboring state of Chiapas.

Those injured in the deluge's aftermath have had little to no medical resources at their disposal. The lack of healthcare is particularly dangerous as waterborne diseases quickly spread in the unsanitary conditions. Many people have resorted to drinking muddy water.

The Mexican government has launched a massive rescue operation, using a fleet of helicopters to pluck thousands of survivors from rooftops. However, as many as 80,000 people are still trapped inside or atop flooded homes. It will be months before evacuees are safely able to return to the area.

"This is truly an emergency situation," said Chris Palusky, relief director for MAP International. "Many of these people have been seriously injured and now they are particularly susceptible to disease. They've lost their homes. They have nowhere to go. They need emergency medical assistance, and MAP is providing that."

MAP is responding to the disaster along with other members of the Global Relief Alliance (GRA), the same consortium through which MAP is providing relief in Africa's war-ravaged eastern region of Chad. The GRA currently has a response team on the ground in Mexico that is monitoring the situation. MAP is sending emergency supplies to the region most severely affected by the flooding.

The flooding closely follows a similar deluge that swamped large swaths of the Dominican Republic, to the southwest of Mexico across the Caribbean Sea. At least 90 people died and 60,000 fled their homes to escape floodwaters and mudslides on Hispaniola, the island the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti. MAP responded with an initial delivery of emergency and relief supplies and is now following with additional shipments.