Catholic Church in Mexico helps those affected by hurricanes

With the start of the 2025 hurricane season, the Catholic Church in Mexico reinforces its prevention, attention and recovery work to deal with the effects of these natural phenomena, which every year cause multiple effects in different regions of the country.

OK With the National Meteorological Service (SMN), the hurricane season began on May 15 at the Pacific Ocean and will start on June 1 at the Atlantic. Both cycles conclude on November 30. The institution estimates that in the Pacific between 16 and 20 cyclones will be recorded, while in the Atlantic they are expected between 13 and 17.

Because of its geographical location, between two oceans and in tropical zone, Mexico is particularly prone to these events.

Fabián Vázquez Romaña, general coordinator of the SMN, pointed out That the states with the greatest exposure are Baja California Sur, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Veracruz, Tamaulipas and Yucatán.

A situation that can be foreseen

In this context, the director of Cáritas Mexicana, P. Francisco de Asís de la Rosa Patron, declared in an interview with ACI Press that it is essential to know that “the problem of a hurricane, or the situation of a hurricane, is something that can face, rather than resolve, all organized.”

In addition, he warned that the most affected people are usually “people in a situation of vulnerability. Many times they are also families who live all in the same home because they do not have resources to have each one their home.”

How does the Catholic Church respond?

Rodrigo Méndez Méndez, coordinator of the Environment area, Risk Management and Emergency of Cáritas, has a 12 -year trajectory witnessing all kinds of natural disasters.

In an interview with ACI Press, he explained that one of the main priorities of the organization has been the creation and strengthening of diocesan teams specialized in risk reduction and disaster response. These groups receive training to act in the different phases of an emergency.

As part of the work preventiveMéndez indicated that Cáritas performs permanent monitoring of tropical storms and hurricanes. “We share that information through the emergency diocesan teams to prepare,” he said, highlighting that this surveillance allows to organize real -time intervention.

Faced with a crisis situationthe National Intervention Protocol for Emergency Management, a set of guidelines and procedures that guide the coordinated work of Caritas is activated.

According to Méndez, “it is a tool that summons the people of God to respond jointly to the emergency.” This protocol is applied together with allied parishes and organizations.

Once the critical phase has been overcomethe evaluation is given. Méndez emphasized the importance of “the lifting of field information that will allow the damage and analyze the needs of those who were affected.”

From this analysis, “the most essential humanitarian aid sectors such as refuge, food security, protection, life, water, hygiene and sanitation and recovery actions are determined.”

Attention levels

According to P. de la Rosa Patron, Cáritas’s response is structured according to the level of impact:

In low impact situations, “very local floods are presented, due to heavy rains that generally occur with a lot of water, although not with much wind”. The attention is provided by local Caritas, with possible diocesan support.

When it comes to an average impact, there is a combination of rain and wind, which also causes landslides. “That generates a much stronger impact,” explained the priest. In these cases, the assistance of neighboring dioceses is added.

In high impact scenarios, where rains destroy homes, especially those “who are with lamina or even cardboard roofs”, Cáritas Mexicana directly coordinates the intervention, mobilizing human and material resources, in addition to promoting collections.

Recommendations

According to Méndez, there are recommendations that, although they may seem obvious, are key and of great help.

One of them is to remain informed: “Let them listen to the radio, television, also in cell phones, that are pending about the entrance of the storms this year.”

Another important measure is to know in advance the safe places to which you can go in case of emergency, such as “shelters, which sometimes gives the government and also the parishes” to be able to protect yourself.

He also emphasized the importance of avoiding rivers and streams channels, since, according to their experience, “sometimes they dare to cross and that is why there are people who have died, they try to cross when the streams, the rivers are grown.”

Méndez also highlighted the fundamental role of community organization as a preventive strategy. He recalled what happened in 2023, when Hurricane Otis hit the coast of Acapulco.

He commented that, thanks to the people who were attentive, “they began to take people to the shelters, they arrived by the elderly. In those colonies, the material damage was very large, but blessed be God, there was no person who suffered because they organized.”