TIGISTANGO, Mexico (AP) — Over the past week, a river winding through the mountains of central Mexico suddenly transformed into a massive wall of water that nearly wiped the village of Chapra, home to 400 people, off the map.
Deadly floods and landslides have cut off 300 towns in central and eastern Mexico, leaving residents shouting to warn neighbors along river banks and desperately seeking shelter.
Thousands of soldiers and workers rushed to rescue civilians and clear roads on Tuesday.
“There's nothing left. It destroyed houses, it destroyed bridges, it destroyed everything. The only thing that survived was the church and the warehouse where we took shelter,” said Stephanie Ramírez, 21, one of a group of elderly people, women and children who stumbled off a rescue helicopter on Tuesday.
The government confirmed that at least 64 people died due to heavy rains. Dozens of people are still missing, and officials have warned that the extent of damage to remote towns of hundreds to 1,000 residents remains unknown. The rains were triggered by the convergence of two tropical storms off Mexico's west coast, which struck at the end of an unusually heavy rainy season, causing rivers to swell and mountainsides to weaken.
Ramirez and her grandmother were evacuated after days of hoping help would arrive. The rest of her family and dozens of neighbors are still waiting to be evacuated. With more rain threatening to fall, they sought shelter on a nearby crumbling hillside next to a still swollen river.
“We have to get them out. They're in constant danger out there,” Ramirez said.
Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum said Tuesday that one of the government's top priorities is to open roads and “ensure the safety of air bridges, food supplies, water, and check on everyone.”
Thousands of military and civilian personnel worked tirelessly on those efforts on Tuesday, but in Chapra, residents decided to organize themselves. Ramirez said they called relatives in the United States and “they arranged for us to get out of there little by little.”
With the help of residents of the nearby town of Tiguistango, a private air bridge became operational, using borrowed helicopters to evacuate groups of about six people at a time, while other residents organized bags of basic items and walked with some soldiers to neighboring villages that remained cut off from the outside world.
“We think the walk will take about six or seven hours, but we want people to know that we are working… and they can see that we care about their situation as well,” said Neptalí Rodríguez, a local resident.
The worst-hit states are Veracruz, Hidalgo and Puebla. In Hidalgo state alone, where about half of the remote villages are located, approximately 100,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed by river flooding and mudslides. Veracruz received 24 inches of rain in just four days, killing at least 29 people. Veracruz Governor Rocío Nahle said more than 300,000 people were affected in that state alone.
Government officials went door-to-door on Tuesday in cities such as Pozarrica in Veracruz state, where the Cazones River swollen on Friday and reached 13 feet (4 meters) in some areas. They are asking residents if anyone is missing.
According to the National Civil Defense Coordination Center, 67 people were still missing as of Tuesday.
Health teams have started fumigating the affected areas to prevent an outbreak of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease.
Poza Rica resident Roberto Olvera said a refinery alarm alerted him to rising water levels.
“It was so horrific that a lot of people nearby couldn't escape,” he said. Flooding there also left a black, oily residue, believed to be from nearby oil and gas facilities, coating trees and rooftops.
Dozens of health centers were damaged, including one in Alamo, Veracruz, where water reached two meters (6.5 feet) and all equipment was destroyed. Local health director Marty Butres said medical staff are now working outdoors.
While thousands of soldiers and rescue teams search for missing people and provide aid, helicopters are delivering supplies to remote areas and private construction companies are helping to reopen major roads.
Sheinbaum said there are sufficient resources to respond and the government “will leave no stone unturned during this emergency.”
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Associated Press photographer Felix Marquez contributed to this report in Poza Rica, Mexico.
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