Storms tear at Tijuana // Non-stop rain kills 14 in area

  Jonathan T. Lovitt

  01/08/1993

  USA Today

  FINAL

  Page 03A

  (Copyright 1993)

  TIJUANA, Mexico - The tropical storm that lashed southern California this week

  began taking a heavy toll here Thursday with flooding and mud slides that killed

  14, injured dozens and left thousands homeless.

  Torrential rains continued late Thursday, snarling traffic across the region.

  In Los Angeles, authorities closed highways and ordered evacuations.

  In San Ysidro, U.S. Coast Guard helicopters rescued 10 people trapped by high

  Tijuana River waters. ``Some roads are covered; some houses are completely

  under water,'' said Coast Guard pilot Lt. Gene Adgate. ``One car was floating

  down the river.''

  In Mexico, Jose Castillo of the Judicial Police reported ``many people who need

  help. There is still danger.''

  Eleven were reported drowned and two electrocuted by outlets in flooded

  apartments. The death of a baby with bronchitis also was blamed on the weather.

  Dozens of homes collapsed. Mudflows and boulders covered many streets,

  hampering rescue efforts. Streams of water spread sewage and garbage.

  Hundreds were stranded in cars. Transit buses lay on their sides, covered in mud.

  Tijuana Mayor Hector Osuna requested aid from nearby San Diego, which sent

  heavy equipment.

  Some key sites for orchestrating emergency services were closed, including

  Rodriguez International Airport and the Red Cross Hospital. At least 600 people

  had been taken to temporary shelters. Food and water were scarce.

  At a welfare station housing survivors, 7-year-old Isabel Aragon said her house

  ``just sunk, and I was really scared, but my family (of five) is all safe and here.''

  A tearful Maria Herrera, 49, holding her 1 1/2-year-old grandson, Jonathan, said:

  ``His mother doesn't even know where we are. Our house was totally destroyed.

  Everything I owned is gone.''

  Dazed, lathered in mud and carrying belongings in garbage bags, the Andrada

  family trooped wearily along.

  Hours earlier a wall of mud driven by the flooding Tijuana River crashed through

  their door.

  They watched people in the house below dragged screaming into the water, then

  raced along the flood banks to a spot that looked shallow enough to cross.

  ``I was so scared,'' said 10-year-old Tony. ``I had seen the other people killed

  below us, and the river, it was just too strong, too fast.''

  The worst flooding began with a storm at about 10 p.m. Wednesday, topping off

  two straight days of rains. ``The sewers are not capable of handling that much

  water,'' said Jesus Montanez of the state Department of Tourism.

  Authorities began evacuating residents before dawn, many from the shantytowns

  that cover hillsides here. But thousands were caught by surprise.

  ``It's crazy living here,'' said Maria Llamas. But given all the shacks that had

  been washed away, she noted, ``I'm lucky to have a house.''

  CUTLINE:IN LOS ANGELES: Red Cross worker Judy Lujon, left, and

  neighborhood volunteer Louise Wolford help clean up a muddy mess Thursday

  in Los Angeles' Hacienda Heights area. CUTLINE:IN TIJUANA: Stranded

  automobiles litter a storm-flooded highway leading into Tijuana, Mexico.

  GRAPHIC,b/w,Julie Stacey, USA TODAY (Map,Mexico); PHOTO,b/w,Chris

  Martinez,AP; PHOTO,b/w,Brian Phelps,AP