Thread: Two major storms lash Mexico, 34 dead amid 'historic' floods

Two major storms lash Mexico, 34 dead amid 'historic' floods








1 of 6. Waves flood a beach in Acapulco September 15, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Jacobo Garcia

Mon Sep 16, 2013 4:34pm EDT

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Two powerful storms pummeled Mexico as they converged from the Pacific and the Gulf on Monday, killing 34 people and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands amid some of the worst flooding in decades.
Tropical Storm Ingrid battered Mexico's northern Gulf coast, while the remnants of Tropical Storm Manuel lashed the Pacific coast, inundating the popular beach resort of Acapulco, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storms unleashed torrential rains and killed nearly three dozen people in the states of Veracruz, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla and Hidalgo, said Luis Felipe Puente, national emergency services coordinator.
State oil monopoly Pemex said it had evacuated three oil platforms and halted drilling at some wells on land due to the storms, but said output had not been affected.
"The storms have affected two-thirds of the entire national territory," the country's interior minister, Miguel Osorio Chong, said at a news conference in Mexico City.
Chong called the flooding "historic" and said the city of Acapulco had sustained major damage. Acapulco's international airport was closed temporarily due to power failure, as was a major highway, in the wake of Manuel.
In Veracruz state, along Mexico's Gulf coast, 12 people died on Monday after their bus was buried by a mountain landslide near the town of Xaltepec, Governor Javier Duarte told reporters.
Across the state, 23,000 people were evacuated from their houses and 9,000 remained in emergency shelters, according to a post on Duarte's Twitter account.
Public school classes in Veracruz were canceled for Tuesday.
Ingrid, which weakened from a hurricane earlier on Monday, prompted Pemex to evacuate three platforms at its offshore Arenque field, operated by British oil services firm Petrofac, and close 24 wells in its onshore Ebano-Panuco field, a company official said.
On Pemex's Twitter page, the company said it had activated "emergency procedures" at its Francisco Madero refinery on the Gulf coast of northern Tamaulipas state, but did not provide details. The Francisco Madero refinery has a processing capacity of 180,000 barrels per day, including crude from both the Arenque and Panuco fields.
Ingrid maintained sustaining maximum winds of 45 miles per hour and was expected to weaken as it moved overland.
The center said Ingrid was expected to become a tropical depression later on Monday while heavy rains continued as the storm churned 8 miles per hour toward the west-northwest. A tropical storm warming was in effect for La Cruz north to Rio San Fernando.
Manuel's maximum sustained winds stood at 30 mph as it dissipated over west-central Mexico, although heavy rainfall is expected to continue along the country's southwestern coast.
In Guerrero state, as many as 15 people died in landslides and as buildings collapsed after sustained weekend rainfall.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/16/us-storm-ingrid-idUSBRE98D0AH20130916

16 September 2013 Last updated at 07:14 ET


Mexico battered by two deadly storms


At least 44 people have been killed in Mexico, which is being hit by two powerful storms one on its east and another on its west coast.

• Mexico battered by storms Watch
• How the storms developed Watch

110 dead in Mexico storms

By CNN Staff
updated 8:26 PM EDT, Sun September 22, 2013


A Red Cross rescuer zip lines across a river at the site of a collapsed bridge near the town of Tierra Colorada, Mexico, on Saturday, September 21. At one point this week, Mexico seemed to be pummeled from all sides by then-Hurricane Manuel and the remnants of Hurricane Ingrid.

Two women inspect what is left of their home in the village of Salsipuedes, Mexico, on Friday, September 20.

A van is recovered September 20, after being trapped by floodwaters in Navolato, Mexico.

Mexican soldiers search through mud and debris in the state of Guerrero on September 20. Guerrero was the hardest-hit state from the dual onslaught of Hurricane Manuel and sister storm Ingrid.

Villagers in San Jeronimo line up at a helicopter from Mexico's Attorney General's Office to get aid on September 20. Federal police have been helping move emergency supplies and bring aid to victims of massive flooding.

A man rescues his dog from floodwater in Navolato, Sinaloa State, Mexico, on September 20.

A resident of Barra de Coyuca checks the destruction in a restaurant by the beach in a tourist resort close to Acapulco, on Thursday, September 19.

A muddy dog lies on a mattress amid the remains of a house destroyed by storms in Acapulco, Mexico, on September 19.
People affected by Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel wait in shelters set up by the Ministry of Defense on September 19, in Acapulco.

Members of the military try to move aid to Atoyac de Alvarez, which is isolated because of flooding on September 19.

Church tower lies toppled after a landslide in La Pintada, Guerrero state, on September 19.

An aerial view shows the extent of a landslide that wiped out part of La Pintada.

Officers with the Federal Police search for bodies at the landslide in La Pintada on September 19.

A man shovels mud from his home on September 19 in Chilpancingo, Guerrero.

A car lies submerged in mud as residents attempt to clean up.

People wade through a flooded street in Acapulco, Mexico, on Wednesday, September 18.

People unload boxes of food from a Mexican navy helicopter in Acapulco on September 18.

People attempt to cross a collapsed bridge in Coyuca de Benitez on September 18.

A man crosses a river using a makeshift zip line on September 18, after a bridge collapsed near the town of Petaquillas, Mexico.

A man wades through floodwaters in Acapulco on September 18.

A boat moves across the Papagayo River to ferry people from the end of a collapsed bridge in Acapulco on September 18.

The Papagayo River swells with floodwaters in Acapulco on Tuesday, September 17.

Stranded tourists gather around a Mexican air force plane at the air base in Pie de la Cuesta, near Acapulco, as they wait to be evacuated on September 17. An estimated 40,000 tourists were stranded in the Pacific state of Guerrero as dozens of roads were damaged and Acapulco's airport temporarily suspended services due to Hurricane Manuel.

Tourists wait to be evacuated at the Pie de la Cuesta air base on September 17.

People wait in line at the air base on September 17.

A tourist from Mexico City sleeps in a shelter in Acapulco on September 17.

Tourists wait in line at an improvised check-in counter at an airport in Acapulco on September 17.

People prepare to board a flight to Mexico City at an airport in Acapulco on September 17.

People rest in a shelter in Acapulco on September 17.

An aerial view shows a flooded area in Acapulco on September 17.

Homes and streets in Acapulco are deep in floodwater on September 17, after the heavy rain brought on by Tropical Storms Ingrid and Manuel.

Water stands on the flooded tarmac of the Acapulco airport on September 17.

Planes sit on the flooded tarmac of the Acapulco airport on September 17.

People stand at the entrance of the Agua de Obispo tunnel that connects Acapulco with Chilpancingo, Mexico. The tunnel was badly damaged by the flooding.

Residents carry goods and supplies in Acapulco on September 17.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Three storms, including two tropical systems, walloped the country
• NEW: Some 24 states have been impacted by storm damage
• NEW: The new death toll is not thought to include an additional 68 people still missing

(CNN) -- The death toll from widespread flooding in Mexico in recent days has increased to 110 people, the country's interior minister said Sunday.

Three storms, including two tropical systems, walloped the country over the past week, sending rivers over their banks, spurring mudslides and washing out roadways.

Some 24 states in the country have been impacted by storm damage, the Interior Ministry said.

The new death toll is not thought to include an additional 68 people still missing in one Guerrero town ravaged by a mudslide.

Over the weekend, Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto spoke about the damage in La Pintada, saying there was little hope now of finding survivors.

He said the reconstruction phase has already begun.

"This is the work, not just for the state of Guerrero, but for the whole country," he said.

CNN en Espanol's Nelson Quinones and CNNMexico.com contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/22/world/americas/mexico-storms/index.html?eref=googletoolbar