Heavy rain in Mexico sets off floods and landslides, killing at least 41

POZA RICA, Mexico — Some people in the low-lying working class neighborhoods of Poza Rica heard the wall of water before they saw it. The loudest sound was from the cars crashing together as they were swept along by the water that had escaped from the banks of the Cazones River and flooded the streets with more than 12 feet (4 meters) of water at dawn Friday.

On Saturday, much of that water had flowed away. What was left was pure destruction and the sometimes head-scratching combinations made when nature collides with the man-made: like cars hung in treetops and even a dead horse wedged inside the cabin of a pickup truck.

The death toll from landslides and floods set off by incessant rainfall in central and southeastern Mexico rose to 41 people on Saturday, authorities said, a sharp increase as thousands of soldiers cleared blocked roads to rescue the missing. Here in Veracruz state, some 540 millimeters (more than 21 inches) of rain fell from Oct. 6 to 9.

In Poza Rica, an oil town 170 miles (275 kms) northeast of Mexico City, there was little warning before the water arrived. Some neighbors said they sensed danger a couple hours earlier and grabbed a few belongings before abandoning their homes.

Shadack Azuara, 27, came in search of his uncle around 3 a.m. Friday, but getting no answer when he knocked, he figured his uncle had already fled with others, so he went home to get himself ready.

On Saturday, still having heard nothing of his uncle – a retiree from oil services work who collected newspapers and bottles for recycling – Azuara returned to find his uncle shirtless and facedown in the murky water surrounding his bed, apparently drowned. He spent hours calling authorities trying to get someone to pick up the body.

“We thought he had gone, that he had evacuated with all of those who left,” Azuara said.

Mexico’s National Coordination of Civil Protection reported that as of Saturday, the heavy rains had killed 16 people in the state of Hidalgo, north of Mexico City, and cut off power to 150 communities there. At least nine people were killed in the state of Puebla, east of Mexico City, and over 16,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

There were also 15 deaths in the state of Veracruz, where the army and navy were helping rescue residents from 42 communities left isolated by landslides on roads and flooded streams. Authorities said they were searching for 27 missing people across the region.

As night fell in Poza Rica, heavy equipment rumbled through dark muddy streets. There was no electricity and little presence from the National Guard or army, but people did what they could to begin cleaning out their homes and businesses.

Across the Gulf coast state’s 55 municipalities, another 16,000 homes were damaged. Earlier, in the central state of Querétaro, a child died being caught in a landslide.

Across the country, over 320,000 users were affected by power outages caused by the heavy rains, authorities said. Authorities have attributed the deadly downpours to Tropical Storm Priscilla, formerly a hurricane, and Tropical Storm Raymond, both off the western coast of Mexico.