Additional Coverage:
- Mexico looks for missing people and rushes to help after torrential rains killed at least 47 (nbcnews.com)
Mexico’s Flood Death Toll Rises to 47 Amid Widespread Devastation
POZA RICA, Mexico – Torrential rains have unleashed widespread flooding and deadly landslides across Mexico, pushing the national death toll to 47 by Sunday as authorities grapple with the unfolding crisis. Rescue teams are working tirelessly to assist stranded residents, locate dozens of missing individuals, and begin the immense task of clearing devastated areas.
Days of relentless downpours have exacerbated conditions in multiple states, where floodwaters have swept away vehicles, demolished homes, and rendered roads impassable. President Claudia Sheinbaum has visited some of the hardest-hit regions, announcing that the government will conduct a census of affected people to facilitate the distribution of vital aid.
Mexico’s Civil Protection agency reported Sunday night that Veracruz state on the Gulf Coast has seen 18 fatalities, while Hidalgo state, north of Mexico City, accounts for 16 deaths. An additional 12 people have died in Puebla, east of the capital, and a child tragically lost their life in a landslide in the central state of Querétaro. Officials caution that the death toll could still rise as rescue workers continue sifting through mud-clogged villages and debris.
Adding to the grim figures, at least 38 people remain missing across three different states.
Authorities attribute the severe weather to two tropical systems, Hurricane Pricilla and Tropical Storm Raymond, which formed off Mexico’s western coast before dissipating.
In Veracruz and Puebla, hundreds of army personnel, police officers, and firefighters have been deployed to conduct rescue operations and establish temporary shelters. These shelters are providing food and medical attention to residents displaced by the floods, while thousands more nationwide are still without running water and electricity.
“There are still various communities in Veracruz that find themselves cut off, but fortunately today they were able to establish air bridges to be able to take food, water and attend to any sick people,” President Sheinbaum stated during her visit to Veracruz on Sunday. “We know that there is a lot of desperation and worry. We’re going to get to everyone.”
Parts of Veracruz state recorded an astounding 21 inches (54 centimeters) of rain between October 6 and 9. In Poza Rica, an oil town 170 miles (275 kilometers) northeast of Mexico City, where Sheinbaum met with residents on muddy streets, some low-lying neighborhoods experienced floodwaters reaching 12 feet or more after the Cazones River overflowed its banks on Friday.