Tens of thousands Mexicans fled their homes in the south due to massive flooding unleashed Wednesday by torrential rain over the past several days.

More than 20,000 people have sought shelter in southern Tabasco state's capital of Villahermosa, where Governor Andres Granier urged residents to evacuate as rising floodwaters reached the rooftops of houses.

The flooding also caused the explosion of a 10-inch (25-centimeter) natural gas pipeline after the soil supporting the pipeline sprung a leak, said officials from the state-owned company Petroleos Mexicanos.

Mexico President Felipe Calderon, who flew to the area Wednesday, pledged to offer all support possible to 300,000 residents in the state. whose homes were wrecked by the flood.

In the southern state of Chiapas, flooding forced 7,000 people to be evacuated, while in Villahermosa, water has inundated the city's streets after a river overflowed its banks.

Torrential rains started overflowing waterways on Sunday. By Wednesday night, the water levels of two rivers in the rain-affected region are still rising.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2007)