Numerous people are dead in Mexico after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides, and video footage shows the devastation left behind.
The Associated Press (AP) reported Sunday that authorities are trying to help the people affected, search for the missing, and begin cleaning up.
In an update on Monday, the outlet said the death toll had tragically risen to 64 after the storms hit east-central Mexico, noting there were 65 people missing:
Mexico’s Civil Protection agency said the heavy rains had killed 29 people in Veracruz state on the Gulf Coast as of Monday morning, and 21 people in Hidalgo state, north of Mexico City. At least 13 people were killed in Puebla, east of Mexico City. Earlier, in the central state of Querétaro, a child died after being caught in a landslide.
Parts of Veracruz state received some 21 inches (54 centimeters) of rain last week between Monday Oct. 6 and Thursday, according to the federal government.
Video footage shows people wading through water as they walked past damaged buildings and destroyed cars:
It is important to note that the death toll may rise as crews work to clean up villages covered in mud and debris. The severe weather was due to two tropical storm systems off Mexico’s west coast that have now dissipated.
Shadack Azuara traveled to Poza Rica to find his uncle on Friday, but there was no answer when he knocked on his door. The 27 year old figured his relative had fled the area, the AP reported Sunday.
However, Azuara returned to his uncle’s house on Saturday and was devastated when he found him facedown in the water around his bed after an apparent drowning.
“We thought he had gone, that he had evacuated with all of those who left,” the young man explained.
More video footage shows neighbors working to clean up the mud and debris:
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has vowed to get aid the communities affected by the storms, landslides, and overflowing rivers, the BBC reported Monday.
“On Sunday, President Sheinbaum visited a shelter in Huauchinango and said that officials would inspect the damage the town suffered. ‘Everyone will get help to rebuild their homes,’ she told those whose houses had been swept away or made uninhabitable,” the article read.
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