The devastating rains that have battered central and southeastern Mexico over the past week have now claimed at least 41 lives, with many more missing, entire communities cut off, and thousands left homeless. The death toll continues to rise as soldiers and emergency crews scramble to clear roads, restore power, and locate the missing in the aftermath of relentless storms, overflowing rivers, and violent landslides that have transformed towns and cities into disaster zones.
In Poza Rica, Veracruz—a working-class oil town northeast of Mexico City—the flood came before dawn on Friday with little warning. Some residents in the lower neighborhoods heard the disaster approaching: a deep, roaring sound punctuated by the crash of vehicles colliding as they were swept along by the sudden surge of more than 12 feet of water that burst from the Cazones River. By Saturday morning, the water had mostly receded, but what remained was a nightmarish landscape—cars stranded in treetops, collapsed homes, and, in one harrowing image, the body of a dead horse jammed inside a pickup truck’s cabin.
Among those searching for loved ones was 27-year-old Shadack Azuara, who had gone looking for his uncle around 3 a.m. Friday. Finding no answer, he assumed his uncle had evacuated safely. But when he returned the next day, he found the elderly man lifeless, facedown in the murky water that had filled his home. His grief was compounded by the hours he spent calling authorities, trying to arrange for the recovery of the body. "We thought he had gone, that he had evacuated with all of those who left," Azuara said.
The ferocity of the rains—more than 21 inches (540 millimeters) fell in just four days in parts of Veracruz—overwhelmed rivers and drainage systems. The Cazones River swelled beyond capacity Thursday night, and by early Friday morning it engulfed entire sections of Poza Rica. Videos recorded by residents show a terrifying scene: a child clinging to a tree, crying for help as floodwaters rage around him, while a man shouts from a nearby building, trying to calm him. In another, a young man perches on the roof of his car, the water rising around him. A local Oxxo convenience store was swallowed by the flood, and the bus station submerged, leaving vehicles and people stranded.
Poza Rica’s tragedy is part of a wider catastrophe affecting multiple states. In Hidalgo, the official death toll stands at 18, with more than a thousand homes damaged, 34 municipalities affected, and 90 communities completely cut off. Landslides in Tenango de Doria and ZacualtipΓ‘n killed eight people each, while two others died when a tree fell on their vehicle in AcaxochitlΓ‘n. Entire towns, such as Joquela in Tianguistengo, have been virtually destroyed, their residents left without power, roads, or communication. More than 300 schools, 59 hospitals and clinics, and 71 roads have been damaged in the state, along with the collapse of five bridges. Federal authorities have launched both the Marina Plan and the DN-III-E Plan in an attempt to coordinate rescue and recovery efforts.
In Puebla, at least nine people are confirmed dead and 13 more are missing in the Sierra Norte and Nororiental regions. Landslides have buried homes, cut off roads, and damaged key infrastructure in 38 municipalities and 66 communities. Sections of highways have crumbled or been blocked by mud and debris, making access difficult even for emergency responders.
Veracruz, beyond Poza Rica, has also been hit hard. Three people are confirmed dead across the state, including a police officer in Papantla, a doctor whose vehicle was swept away in Los Reyes, and a university student who drowned in the streets of Poza Rica. Floods and landslides have isolated 42 communities, and 16,000 homes have been damaged across 55 municipalities. In towns like Huehuetla, over 700 residents are trapped due to blocked roads, with rivers still rising dangerously.
Meanwhile, in the state of QuerΓ©taro, a child died in a landslide in Pinal de Amoles, prompting officials to warn residents to stay away from mountain roads and swollen streams. In Oaxaca, roughly 8,000 people in remote Zapotec-Mixe communities have been isolated for days, as streams turned into torrents and landslides buried rural roads. Residents in towns like Xadani, San JosΓ© el ParaΓso, and Guigovelaga are now waiting for the rains to subside just to attempt crossing by foot.
Across the country, more than 320,000 people have been affected by power outages caused by the storms. Authorities attribute the catastrophic weather to Tropical Storm Priscilla and Tropical Storm Raymond, both of which unleashed torrential rainfall as they moved along Mexico’s western coast. The simultaneous impact of these systems, combined with vulnerable topography, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient early warnings, has led to one of the deadliest weather disasters in recent years.
As night falls again over devastated regions like Poza Rica, many families remain without power, shelter, or information about missing loved ones. Heavy machinery moves slowly through muddy streets, clearing debris where it can, but with dozens still unaccounted for and rivers remaining swollen, the danger is not yet over. Social media is now flooded not just with videos of the disaster, but with desperate pleas for help, calls for airlifts, and stories of entire families swept away or trapped in homes reduced to rubble. The full scale of Mexico’s flooding disaster is still unfolding, but for many, the heartbreak is already irreversible.
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