TAPACHULA, Mexico (CNN) -- Forecasters predicted more heavy rain for southern Mexico as hunger increased Wednesday among flood victims. Many could be reached only by helicopters because of mudslides, swollen rivers and downed bridges.

Aid flights in the state of Chiapas resumed in the morning after showers delayed shipments of food, water and medicine to about 400,000 villagers.

The flooding also has affected the states of Oaxaca, Michoacan, Jalisco, Hidalgo, Guanajuato and Guerrero.

Nearly a third of Chiapas remained covered by fetid water or mud. Roads were knocked out by the high waters, and decaying carcasses of cows and horses poked through the mud.

By Wednesday, 119 bodies had been recovered, said Health Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente. Officials expected the number to rise.

Disaster ruins independence day celebrations

Local newspapers said more than 200 people had died, and the Roman Catholic bishop of Tapachula, Monsignor Felipe Arizmendi, said the church expected the death toll to reach 500 or even 1,000, because so many people were missing.

Many bodies were believed to have been washed into the Pacific Ocean or buried in deep mud.

The disaster spoiled Wednesday's celebrations of the 188th anniversary of Mexico's declaration of independence from Spain.

Weather officials expected another 5 centimeters (2 inches) of rain to fall in the region over the next 24 hours.

Anger grows as elections loom

Hunger gripped dozens of villages, according to the Mexico City newspaper Reforma.

Residents of Soconusco, 64 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Tapachula, swarmed onto a helicopter dropping off rations Tuesday, grabbing everything inside the chopper. Soldiers were unable to stop them, the newspaper said.

"People are starving to death here," a local leader, Leobardo Broca, was quoted as telling the soldiers. "See for yourselves."

Many stranded Mexicans expressed anger and frustration over their plight, accusing the ruling party of hoarding aid just weeks before scheduled local elections.

"Right now, the candidates are hoarding the aid so they can personally distribute it later," one resident in the coastal town of Tonala told Mexico City's Radio Red on Wednesday.

Respiratory infections and diarrhea also were becoming problems, said Edith Cheves, who runs a shelter in Acapetahua.

"What the government is sending is not enough, and the people are growing more and more desperate," she said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens to be careful while traveling in the flood-ravaged areas. Many roads and bridges are washed out -- including the Pan American highway -- and many are barely passable, a travel notice said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.