Mexico Floods

Cars sit in a flooded street in San Jose del Cabo Monday, after Hurricane Odile knocked down trees and power lines in Mexico's Baja California peninsula.
A natural disaster in a rich country like the United States can be an inconvenience. In an impoverished nation like Mexico, it is a human catastrophe. Massive floods that struck the southern Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas in late October and November left vast stretches of land completely submerged — an estimated 80% of Tabasco was under water at one point, and as many as one million residents were affected by the floods. Mexican President Felipe Calderon put it simply: "This is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country."

 Hurricane Felix


The U.S. got off lightly in the hurricane season of 2007, but not every country was so lucky. A Category 5 storm — the highest possible rating — Hurricane Felix slammed into Nicaragua on Sept.4 with winds that ranged up to 160 mph. The storm also hit Honduras and grazed the Caribbean islands. Altogether Felix killed 101 people, and pulverized the impoverished coastal communities of Nicaragua. One bright side — the storm hit heavily forested areas, which blunted the force of the winds.