Mexico has started the weekend with several tragedies in various entities of the country as a result of the havoc caused by almost the entire national territory in the last hours. The most recent report from the National Civil Protection System has reported 37 deaths: five in Veracruz, one in Querétaro, nine in Puebla and 22 in Hidalgo. “Local and federal authorities maintain permanent communication with their families to provide them with the required support,” the authority said in a statement.
The Mexican Government has activated several emergency protocols to care for the affected population, including the DN-III-E and Navy plans, as well as the protocols established by states and municipalities in emergency situations in the 117 municipalities with the greatest impact in five states.
President Claudia Sheinbaum reported at night, through her social networks, that the rains affected 982 kilometers of federal highways, divided between the States of Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Veracruz.
During the morning, President Sheinbaum had reported the first reports of damage and announced that she would hold a meeting – which was held hours later – with Civil Protection personnel and with representatives of the most affected states: “The greatest damage has been in Veracruz, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Hidalgo and Guerrero. In Veracruz, there are 38 municipalities affected and 5,000 homes affected in the most affected municipality. damaged, which is Álamo,” said Laura Velázquez Alzúa.
After their meeting, the president published: “Members of the secretariats of National Defense, Navy and Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation; Civil Protection, Conagua and CFE support the populations of Veracruz, Puebla, Hidalgo and Querétaro.”
Members of the Secretariats of National Defense, Navy and Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation; Civil Protection, Conagua and CFE support the populations of Veracruz, Puebla, Hidalgo and Querétaro.
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein)
The rains of the last few hours have been caused by the passage of the tropical storm Raymond that this Friday afternoon advances towards Manzanillo, Colima, and Michoacán, with wind gusts of 110 kilometers per hour. category 2 and which was downgraded to a tropical storm, but whose wake has also left rain in much of the Mexican territory.
In Veracruz, the rains have been the heaviest and worst recorded in recent years. Federal Civil Protection reports that in the entity there are 55 municipalities affected, with 16,000 homes damaged, 42 communities with limited access, 25 communication routes affected and 51 recorded landslides. As of this Saturday morning, 220 people have been rescued, and 19 temporary shelters remain active.
A woman clinging to a traffic sign to avoid being swept away by the water or the images of a child on a tree while, below, the river devastated everything, are some of the images that portray the anguish of the affected people, who urgently demand help. “There are people who are being carried away by the river, we don’t see authorities,” a woman is heard saying. The Mexican Army, the Air Force and the National Guard are already launching the DN-III-E Plan in that entity in the north of Veracruz.
In Hidalgo, there are damages in 13 municipalities, 1,200 homes with damages. 308 schools damaged. 59 health centers affected, 150 communities without access, 6 streams overflowed, as well as 71 communication routes with damage and 190 landslides or slopes.
In the Sierra Querétaro, landslides Since last October 8, in several parts of the state there have been unprecedented rains that caused, for example, the overflowing of the Jalpan dam. The governor, Mauricio Kuri, has assured in a video published on his social networks this Friday afternoon that these have been difficult hours for many families: “The rainfall has reached 147 millimeters, this amount is equivalent to 15% of the total rain that falls in the area throughout the year.” In Querétaro, there are 147 affected homes in 121 communities and seven shelters have been set up.
As of this Saturday, in Querétaro, 7 municipalities are reported to have been affected, with 147 damaged homes, 5 communities without temporary access, 5 communication routes affected and 16 hillside slides resulting from intense rains.
Alejandro Armenta, the governor of Puebla, reported that so far three people have died in the State, one in Tlacuilotepec and two other people in La Ceiba, and that there are at least eight people missing. In this entity, Civil Protection reports 16,000 homes affected by heavy rains and 37 municipalities affected. Likewise, damage has been recorded in an IMSS hospital, 3 communication routes damaged and 83 collapses.
The weather conditions for this weekend, according to the National Meteorological Service, in almost the entire national territory. The authorities have called on the population not to risk their lives by traveling through the most affected areas and to remain alert to the instructions of Civil Protection.
