At least 64 people have died in Mexico after heavy rains and flooding hit five states last week.
The National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC) chief, Laura Velazquez Alzua, speaking during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s daily news briefing on Monday, said another 65 people were still missing.
The state of Veracruz on the country’s southeastern coastline has confirmed 29 deaths, followed by 21 in Hidalgo, 13 in Puebla and one in Queretaro, Alzua said.
Forty-three people are also reported missing in Hidalgo, along with 18 in Veracruz and four in Puebla.
Thousands of military troops have been deployed to offer assistance across the five affected states, and governors are also working together to coordinate support, Sheinbaum said.
Early estimates show that about 100,000 houses have been affected, she added, with some near rivers having “practically disappeared”.
Facing questions about Mexico’s alert system, Sheinbaum said there were no meteorological signs “that could have indicated to us that the rain was going to be of this magnitude”.
Meteorologists have said the rains occurred thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Rainstorm Raymond, which caused rivers to rapidly rise, leading to flooding and landslides.
The heaviest rainfall was reported on Wednesday in Veracruz’s city of Cerro Azul and Puebla’s Cuetzalan del Progreso, which saw 280mm and 286mm of rain, respectively, Alzua said.
The Mexican Army, Air Force and National Guard have jointly implemented response efforts, distributing food and clean water, sometimes by air, to locations otherwise made inaccessible by landslides and road closures.
Nearly 400 repair workers have restored more than 80 percent of the electricity supply across the five states, where about 263,000 users lost power, electricity officials said during the briefing.
