Heavy rains flood Mexican cities, nearly 130 people dead or missing

(Patria) - Stormy rains that hit Mexico last week killed at least 64 people, and 65 are reported missing, the government said on Monday, after a tropical depression triggered landslides and floods in parts of the Gulf of Mexico coast and central states, Reuters reported.

The unnamed depression came at the end of the rainy season, striking the country and overflowing rivers that were already saturated by months of rain, while forecasters focused on tropical storms and two hurricanes on the Pacific coast.

"This intense rain was not expected to be of such magnitude," President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters.

Admiral Raymundo Morales, secretary of the Mexican Navy, said the floods resulted from the merging of warm and cold air fronts over rivers already filled to the brim and mountains weakened by months of rain. About 100,000 homes were affected, President Sheinbaum said.

Laura Velazquez, national coordinator of civil protection, said Hidalgo and Veracruz were the hardest-hit states, with 29 deaths and 18 missing reported in Veracruz, and 21 deaths and 43 missing in Hidalgo.

The rain also destroyed infrastructure such as bridges and left streets covered in mud.
Videos and images from last week show emergency services wading through deep waters to find stranded residents and deliver supplies to affected communities.

Authorities deployed thousands of personnel to assist with evacuations, cleanup, and monitoring of the hardest-hit areas.

Electricity, which went out in towns across five states, has largely been restored.
Authorities said they would also focus on curbing the spread of viruses such as dengue, which is transmitted by mosquitoes that breed in stagnant water.