After the storm: Tens of thousands of Mexicans left homeless, but was Hurricane Eta or human error to blame?

Hurricane Eta may now have blown itself out but the devastation it caused across large parts of Central America in the past month will remain a problem for some time.

Homes, trees and power lines were all brushed aside with deadly ease by the storm as winds regularly reached speeds of more than 130 miles per hour. Beyond the physical damage, so far some 200 lives have been lost to Eta in the region. That toll is expected to grow.

It was a natural tempest that needed little help to inflict damage on the tens of thousands of people who lived in its path.

But in southern Mexico the disaster may very well have been given a helping hand either by incompetence or something worse.

In the far southern state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, sits the Angel Albino Corzo dam, known locally as Penitas.

It was here a mistake, or something more sinister, left tens of thousands of people homeless.

The dam inadvertently discharged up to 2,100 cubic metres of water per second into the neighbouring region of Tabasco earlier this week. 

Operators were trying to relieve pressure caused by Eta, which had caused dams to fill, including Penitas.

But when the Federal Electrical Commission (CFE) tried to do that, there was a miscalculation and they drained excessive amounts of water on top of already struggling areas into the Tabasco Valley below.

The outcome was devastating. Some 15,000 homes were initially affected by the flooding caused by Eta, but local authorities believe as many as 72,000 people have now been left homeless because of the decision. 

There are many people still unaccounted for, and as the waters begin to recede, there may be a new threat for those left homeless – alligators and poisonous snakes searching for food having too lost their natural habitats to Eta. To compound the misery, fresh storms are expected to hit the region this coming week.

The recriminations have already begun. Adan Augusto Lopez Hernandez, governor of Tabasco, claimed a deliberate decision was made by Conagua – the National Water Commission – and the CFE to release pressure on the dam.  

“We have almost 15,000 homes underwater, there are neighbourhoods where the water is up to two metres high,” he said. “Tabasco is on a plain. It rained excessively, and the water was unable to move, which has left us in the situation we find ourselves in now."

Hernandez also stated that he had asked the federal government to “prioritise the protection of population centres” and reiterated that the local authorities would hold the CFE “responsible for any damages and losses that the people and property of the citizens of Tabasco may suffer”.

Residents of the town of Gaviotas Sur suspect that they were sacrificed by the authorities in an attempt to protect the regional capital, Diana Vazquez.

A resident of Gaviotas told Reforma: “To save the centre of Villahermosa, they [allowed us] to be flooded here.” Another, Jose Luis Arias, felt that the opening of the dam was to blame for the flooding. “It hasn’t rained much here but as they’re opening up the dam we’re having these floods,” he said.  

El Castano, a town on the banks of the Puxcatan, one of several rivers flooded by Penitas, suffered a failure of the protective flood wall, necessitating an evacuation by the military. Eyewitnesses later told reporters that a number of people had drowned during the escape attempt.  

In nearby Macuspana, an area with 142,000 inhabitants, inhabitants discussed the difficulty of the situation facing them. “My neighbours and I are removing everything, but it’s difficult. We are taking clothes, supplies, whatever we can” said Cesar, a resident displaced by the flooding. The only method of accessing their former homes now is by boat.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who himself hails from Macuspana, has rejected suggestions that the Mexican government are responsible, a claim supported by head of the CFE, Manuel Bartlett.  

Lopez Obrador was quick to defend Bartlett, when asked about allegations that the CFE had intentionally flooded the valley. “I think those claims are unfounded, the CFE has worked in favour of Tabascans” he said. “Manuel Bartlett has led projects that have supported Tabasco, the only problem has been that the rains are too heavy in the southeast of the country."

Hernandez, however, has repudiated the federal version of events and instead blamed the CFE directly, alleging that they made a mistake when calculating how much water to release from Penitas. “The first release of water was an error in calculation. They should have released less water, but instead caused a flood in the lower regions of Tabasco” he said.  “We have been there, and accordingly, seen that if they had taken more care, they would have ensured a lower release [of water] by half.”

Regardless of whether or not human error played a role in the floods, this is not the first time that this dam has had serious issues. In 2007, a similar event occurred, releasing over 1,500 cubic metres per second into the valley below, despite announcements that only 699 would be discharged, again causing flooding in the valley below.

A 2008 government report discussed the possibility that the dam would be unsafe in the event of heavy rains. As a result of these decision, and the risk caused by the dam, there was a decision to limit output to only 300 cubic metres per second where possible, a mere 14 per cent of the discharge that led to this week’s flooding.

As recently as October of this year, there were discussions around permanently closing Penitas in order to avoid the risk of further complication. The dam does not hold a significant amount of water when compared to other elements in the Griljava chain and is responsible for only one per cent of total electricity generation in the region. 

At the time, president Lopez Obrador noted: “We will take the decision that means it will never again flood the plains of Tabasco, not only when it rains but also through malfunction of the pumps, which do not work properly.”

“Ever since 1987, when the Angel Albino Corzo Dam was introduced, Tabascans have lived in fear – especially during the period between September and October when the rains are at their strongest,” governor Hernandez said last month, when asked about the future of the troubled dam. 

It is not yet clear who, if anyone, will eventually claim responsibility for what happened in Tabasco, but for those living in the path of the flood, there is little consolation over this act of prescience. 

For the future of the dam itself, it is likely that this will spell the death knell of a hazard that locals have been warning about for years. In the face of the worst hurricane season on record however, the nightmare for residents may not be over any time soon.