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At least 41 people are dead in central and southeastern Mexico after days of torrential rainfall triggered floods and landslides, authorities said Saturday.
The death toll rose as thousands of soldiers scoured the destruction left in the wake of the receding waters, clearing roads blocked with trees and cars to rescue the missing.
In Poza Rica, an oil town 170 miles northeast of Mexico City, residents told The Associated Press they heard the wall of water and the sound of cars crashing into one another before seeing the streets flood with more than 12 feet of water Friday.
Not everyone was able to evacuate in time.
NORTH CAROLINA FAMILY STILL RECOVERING A YEAR AFTER HURRICANE HELENE DESTROYED HOME
Shadack Azuara, 27, said he went to his uncle’s home at 3 a.m. Friday before the floods, but no one answered when he knocked. He returned on Saturday to find his uncle shirtless and facedown in the murky water surrounding his bed, apparently drowned.
“We thought he had gone, that he had evacuated with all of those who left,” Azuara said.
The heavy rains had killed 16 people in the state of Hidalgo, north of Mexico City, and cut off power to 150 communities, Mexico’s National Coordination of Civil Protection reported Saturday.
At least nine people were killed in the state of Puebla, east of Mexico City, and over 16,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
VOLUNTEER PILOTS REFLECT ON ONE YEAR SINCE HELENE DEVASTATED WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
There were also 15 deaths in the state of Veracruz, where the army and navy carried out rescue operations for residents in dozens of communities left isolated after landslides and swollen streams blocked roadways.
Authorities said they were searching for 27 missing people across the region, and 16,000 homes were damaged across the Gulf coast state’s 55 municipalities.
Earlier, in the central state of Querétaro, a child died after being caught in a landslide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.