Dozens of dead and missing, and thousands of homes destroyed after heavy rains across Mexico

Miguel Angel Villegas Escobar says more than a dozen people have died in his area, which remains cut off from the rest of the Mexican state of Hidalgo, after heavy rains, river floods and mud washed away bridges and roads in the area.

Villegas Escobar, regional director of primary education in the village of Chahuaco in the landlocked state of Hidalgo, said via WhatsApp voice messages that entire families in the region were swept away by widespread flooding caused by rains that fell over four days last week across five states on the Gulf Coast and the central states.

He said he knew of 15 people in the municipality of Tianguistengo – which includes several villages such as Chahuaco – who were killed in the floods and buried in mud.

Villegas Escobar said two people were still missing from the nearby village of Tlacolula, which is also part of Tiangostengo and was hardest hit. He said in audio messages from Chaaco, located about 250 kilometers northwest of Mexico City, that the majority of the village’s homes were destroyed.

People in Chahuaco followed ancient trails, packing supplies on animals and horses to provide assistance to the people of Tlacolula, Villegas Escobar said. “We went there to help,” he added.

Dozens dead and thousands of homes damaged

The storms left 64 people dead and 65 others missing, according to data released by Mexican authorities at a press conference on Monday.

Heavy rain fell from October 6 to 9, causing rivers, canyons and ditches to overflow, cutting out power, causing landslides and washing away highways and roads across the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla, Queretaro and San Luis Potosi.

“The federal, state and municipal governments were there to help the affected population,” said Laura Velasquez, national coordinator of the Federal Civil Protection Agency, which released the figures during the press conference.

The states of Veracruz, Hidalgo and Puebla faced the brunt of the devastation, with 56 people killed and more than 100 communities affected, according to government figures.

Pictures circulated on social media and local news reports showed streets turning into rivers of water and mud, and people gathering on rooftops and roads swept away by landslides. There was a report in local media that at least one police officer drowned while attempting a rescue.

The administration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and the governors of the three main affected states, all part of the ruling Movement for National Regeneration (Morena) party, have faced criticism from opposition politicians and the public over what is seen as a slow response and a failure to issue alerts or pre-emptive evacuations, according to local media reports.

On Monday morning, a group of residents staged a quiet protest in front of the National Palace in the historic center of Mexico City, carrying signs calling on the president to help the people of Tecatepec, Veracruz state, according to the British newspaper “Daily Mail”. To report in CMX Noticias.

Sheinbaum said at the press conference that the government’s preliminary figures showed that more than 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by the rains.

She said a helicopter airlift is now helping about 60 communities in Veracruz, Hidalgo and Puebla that were stranded by washed-out roads and highways. Some of these communities have small populations of about 1,000 people, Sheinbaum said.

“First we open the federal highways…then we get into the state (highways),” she said. “From the beginning, we decided that this was the most urgent thing to get to these sites.”

Sheinbaum said she was frustrated with residents suffering from the devastation caused by the heavy rains.

The president faced questions about A video that appeared on Sunday shows frustrated citizens In Poza Rica, Veracruz state, she encountered her while touring an area of ​​devastation, claiming that several university students were missing.

“I personally got out of the car to listen to people, and they told us they needed more help, more equipment… and support for families,” Sheinbaum said during the press conference.

“I made it clear to them that more help is coming, and that no family will be left helpless.”

Authorities were monitoring Pacific Coast systems

The force of the rain seemed to surprise the authorities.

Raymundo Pedro Morales Angeles, Marine Secretary, said that early last week authorities were monitoring a possible tropical cyclone called Raymond and a hurricane called Priscilla that were developing off the country’s Pacific coast.

But at the same time, a low pressure system, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Veracruz on Oct. 8, ended up colliding with a cold front coming from Texas and causing a sudden downpour, Morales Angeles said.

Morales Angeles said the rainy season in the region had reached its end, rivers and water levels were at their limits, and hillsides had already been weakened by previous rains, creating conditions for massive flooding.

“There was no science, meteorologically, that could tell us the rain would be this big,” Sheinbaum said.

The Mexican government has listed the municipality of Tianguistengo as a priority area.

Villegas Escobar said that the army had made contact with the area with two helicopters and that work had begun to rebuild roads and bridges.

In a video clip shared with CBC News, Villegas Escobar Hidalgo Governor Julio Ramon Menchaca called on Salazar, local deputies and senators for help Tuscola.

The video shows the village’s primary school, now a mangled wreck of mud, bricks and tree trunks, in a scene reminiscent of the aftermath of a tsunami.

“People need a lot of help here in Tlacolula,” he said.