The Tabasco floods

The Tabasco floods

From Witness History by BBC World Service

April 24, 2026 · 11 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the devastating floods in Tabasco, Mexico in 2007 through the experiences of emergency coordinator Marco Franco.

In 2007, the Mexican state of Tabasco experienced its worst flooding in 50 years, with more than a million people affected. Eighty per cent of the region was under water, with people having to be rescued from the roofs of their homes by boat. The flooding occurred after heavy rain caused rivers in the state to break their banks. Marco Franco worked as an emergency coordinator for the Red Cross during the floods. He speaks to Tim O’Callaghan about his memories of that time. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer…

People in this episode

Host: Tim O’Callaghan

Guest: Marco Franco

Topics covered

  • flooding
  • emergency response
  • personal accounts
  • natural disasters
  • history

Keywords

  • Tabasco floods
  • 2007
  • Marco Franco
  • Red Cross
  • natural disaster
  • emergency response
  • flooding

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Mexico, Tabasco

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