Devastation Hits Lakeside Hard
Community & Government Support was immediate
By Sandy Britton, October 20, 2021
As many of you know, a fierce storm hit the Lakeside area during the early morning hours of Tuesday, October 5. Several inches of rain in just a few hours turned creeks into raging torrents that stripped the trees from sections of the mountainside and sent tons of mud, rock, vegetation, and other debris towards the houses below.
Hardest hit were neighborhoods in west Ajijic and San Juan Cosalá, as well as communities on the back side of those mountains, in the municipality of Ixtlahuacán de Los Membrillos. Houses filled with mud, damaging the structures and destroying the belongings within. Luckily there were no human or animal deaths.
The disaster brought an immediate outpouring of government and community support. Members of the military, firefighters, volunteers, and representatives of the local government gathered quickly in the disaster area (no small feat, given that many roads were blocked with mud and debris) to evaluate the situation, safeguard the area, and offer immediate assistance. Heavy machinery was dispatched to clear the debris while volunteers with shovels hauled wheelbarrows full of mud from inside the affected houses.
And through all this, FoodBank Lakeside, backed by its network of generous and loyal supporters, was there, looking for what they could do to help. Members of the FoodBank team worked with the first responders to determine immediate needs. A batch of 50 food despensas was immediately ordered from our supplier to be delivered the next day. Representatives from FoodBank were stationed at the Ajijic Cultural Center to receive and track money donations on behalf of the municipality and to stay abreast of what was happening. They were able to observe the incredible immediate response of the community to the disaster, as the Cultural Center filled with donations of non-perishable food, cleaning products, clothing, disposable diapers, bedding, and other needed supplies.
FoodBank team members also joined with local businesses and community members to prepare food for the 200-plus volunteers working at the disaster site.
Donations of cash and supplies poured in directly to FoodBank, earmarked to be used to help the victims of the mudslides.
A distribution point was set up in a small church in La Canacinta, one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods in west Ajijic, where those in need could go get help. While temporary shelters had been established, most of the affected people preferred to camp in their homes if they could, or to stay with family members.
On the day following the disaster, FoodBank volunteers arrived at this distribution center with despensas and other donated supplies. In order to make sure that the despensas and supplies went to those who truly needed them, each applicant was screened as to the size of their family and how much damage they had incurred. The despensas gave these families much-needed relief from worrying about how they were going to feed their families when they had just lost so much.