As Tabasco floodwaters recede, a spirit of recovery – and humor

President Felipe Calderón visited Tabasco on Sunday, promising generous relief aid from the government. "We are seeing one of the worst natural catastrophes in the history of the country," he said, on his third tour of the devastated area in the past week, "not only because of the size of the area affected, but because of the number of people affected."

A full mass on Sunday

Noon mass on Sunday at Villahermosa's cathedral was overflowing. Many had to stand in the plaza outside the church and listen to the service via speaker. The priest, at the end of mass, dedicated nearly a half hour to providing tips on how to prevent disease and ration food.

Maria del Carmen and her husband, Ranulfo Lopez, an elderly couple, brought food and medicine to the church, which is also doubling as a refugee shelter. Cotton sleeping mats and clothes were folded up underneath the pews. "It brings peace to be in church, and we are praying for our brothers," says Ms. del Carmen, nodding toward the man in front of her, Jose del Carmen. He's a bricklayer's assistant and father of two who lost his home and is sleeping in the church with his family.

While the fear of renewed flooding has dissipated, some residents are now turning to hard questions about their future. Rebeca Hernandez, who is staying in a refugee shelter, has been standing in line for an hour and a half to see her home for the first time. "I'm afraid we have lost everything," says Ms. Hernandez, a mother of two. "I'm not sure what we are going to do."

Many people are going back to their homes to retrieve their most valuable belongings. Perez, for example, pulls his gas oven from the house, and loads it into a motorboat. He is going to take all the clothes he needs, too. "I don't know when we'll be able to move back," he says.

Officials say that once the water fully recedes, the threat of disease lurks, and the economic toll on the state will be massive.

But for now residents seem patient, even upbeat. Victor Hugo Arias, who came as a volunteer with Mexico Verde, says that most people have shown enormous resolve. "They are so positive," he says, "even funny."

Wait, I'm in the shower!

On Saturday, he says, a man approached his group desperate, saying his friend was trapped. When they finally got to him, navigating the streets in rafts, they shouted up to his friend's window.

"Give me five minutes," came the reply. "I'm just finishing up a shower."

As the Mexico Verde boat turns the corner, another homeless resident, Carlos Garcia, looks incredulously at what used to be his street. "Oh my," he says.

And then his neighbor calls out to him from his house and hands him a bottle of oil and a note. It's from his wife, from whom he's been separated. A love note? Not quite.

It is a list of everything she wants him to do, he says, and rolls his eyes.

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