(ajz) Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless as severe floods continue to rage through Mexico's southern state of Tabasco, in the country's worst natural disaster for decades. Rescue workers and police were out in force on Saturday helping flood victims, as fears grew of a looming health crisis. The floods have affected more than one million residents, half of Tabasco's population, but only one death has been reported. In the southern state of Chiapas at least four people died after rain-swollen rivers burst their banks, damaging 5,000 homes and 16 bridges. Flood waters looked ready to recede on Saturday, but forecasters said that with a cold front due to move into the area there could be more rain in store. Many were set to spend another night on their rooftops, with tens of thousands already crammed into emergency shelters struggling to provide enough hot meals and dry beds. One group stranded on a roof held a banner reading: "Enough. There are children, pregnant women, sick women. Send the police." Health officials have voiced concerns about looming health risks from open sewage and the spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes. Dengue, cholera and diarrhoea outbreaks are now real possibilities, they said.

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