Heavy rain, floods and landslides in Mexico kill at least 37

By JOHN YOON

Heavy rains in Mexico set off widespread flooding and landslides last week that killed at least 37 people across four states, damaged thousands of houses and roads, cut off power to entire communities and forced hundreds to evacuate their homes, authorities said.

Authorities linked the rain to Post-Tropical Cyclone Priscilla, formerly a hurricane, and to Tropical Storm Raymond, both off western Mexico in the Pacific Ocean. Rain was forecast to continue through the weekend.

Rainfall and landslides killed at least 22 people in the state of Hidalgo, north of Mexico City, according to a statement by the Mexican government Saturday. The weather also left eight others missing, the state’s interior secretary, Guillermo Olivares Reyna, said at a news conference Friday.

At least nine people died in the state of Puebla, east of Mexico City, and authorities were searching for at least eight others who were buried after a landslide hit their homes, Gov. Alejandro Armenta told reporters.

There were also five deaths in the state of Veracruz and one in Querétaro, the statement said. Veracruzana University said in a statement that a student had died, while a child in Querétaro died in a landslide, according to Lupita Ramírez Plaza, mayor of Pinal de Amoles.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on social media that the government was working to “support the population, open roads and restore electricity.”

More than 320,000 users were affected by power outages caused by heavy rains and winds, the Mexican government said.

Torrential rains have damaged at least two bridges and affected more than 600 miles of federal highways across five states, Sheinbaum said.

Thousands of soldiers were carrying out rescues and clearing roads on Friday. The navy, which deployed 3,300 troops, said that it had carried out more than 900 evacuations. Mexican authorities said that they had activated more than 5,400 troops from the army, air force and national guard.

The Mexican government said in a statement that the greatest impacts had been reported in the states of Veracruz, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Puebla and Hidalgo. It added that municipalities in Veracruz had been hit particularly hard, with 16,000 homes damaged, landslides on roads and flooded streams.

Julio Menchaca, the governor of Hidalgo, said on social media Thursday that all classes had been suspended because of heavy rains. Reyna, the state’s interior secretary, said that at least 1,000 homes, 308 schools and 59 hospitals had been damaged.

The storm in Hidalgo also cut off power to 17 municipalities and left 90 communities without communication. Hidalgo’s infrastructure officials posted photos of landslides covering roads and workers trying to clear rocks and branches that had fallen.

The same storms were expected to bring the risk of heavy rain and flash flooding across desert areas of the U.S. Southwest this weekend.