Mexican authorities are searching for dozens of missing people and struggling to supply aid to thousands more who were caught off guard by torrential rains that drenched several parts of the country, causing severe damage over the weekend.
Officials said Monday that 64 people had been killed and 65 were missing across five affected states near the Gulf of Mexico.
The toll is expected to increase in the coming days as search and rescue teams continue to reach areas cut off by landslides.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday morning that her administration estimated that roughly 100,000 homes were affected by flooding and landslides. Dozens of communities remained isolated, and the president said food and water would need to be flown in.
“There were no scientific or meteorological conditions that could have indicated to us that the rainfall would be of this magnitude,” Ms. Sheinbaum told reporters, adding that the government’s eyes were mostly on the Pacific, where two storms, Priscilla and Raymond, had formed off western Mexico last week.
But it was in the central and eastern parts of the country — in the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Puebla — where extremely intense and localized downpours caused the most destruction, overflowing rivers and setting off landslides.
Some towns saw around 20 inches of rain dumped in just four days, government figures show.
Torrential rains have emerged as a risk for wide areas of the country. Earlier this year, heavy flooding on Mexico’s border with the United States also caused fatalities and left widespread damage.
While it’s difficult to draw a connection between any specific downpour and climate change in real time, studies suggest that, as global temperatures rise, storms produce more extreme rain because warm air holds more moisture than cool air.
Ms. Sheinbaum is facing pressure to provide quick relief to the victims, a task hampered by recent budget cuts to climate-change mitigation efforts and the loss of a special disaster relief fund that was dissolved by her predecessor and mentor over corruption claims. (No cases of corruption directly linked to the fund have been legally proven).
Research has found that the fund — once considered one of the world’s most advanced financial instruments for disaster relief — saved lives and aided in restoring access to vital services.
But Ms. Sheinbaum vowed her administration would spare no expense to support those affected by the heavy rains.
“There are sufficient resources. There will be no skimping on that,” she said, adding that her administration still had $867 million this year to allocate to disaster relief.
But in some of the hardest hit places, desperation has been growing.
On Sunday, during a visit to Veracruz — where an overflowing river displaced thousands and had claimed at least 29 lives — Ms. Sheinbaum was met by crowds of angry residents in the town of Poza Rica.
“Where are they?” they shouted, holding up cellphone photos of the missing.
A young student rebuked the president as she tried to settle people down, speaking from the back of a pickup truck. Three of his university classmates, the man said, had been missing for three days, while locals responded on their own to the disaster.
“We have been here for three days, cleaning up,” he shouted, with emotion. “What good is it to have you here?”
Ms. Sheinbaum repeatedly asked the crowd to shush and listen to her, pressing her finger on her lips. “We are going to help everyone,” she said. “Nothing will be hidden.”
Asked about Sunday’s encounter, she said Monday that the university authorities told her that two students had died but they had not yet confirmed whether any others were missing.
Ms. Sheinbaum has also pointed to a “unique” factor that Mexico has heavily relied on in recent years: its armed forces.
In the absence of a special disaster fund, the Mexican Army, Air Force and Navy have played an expanding role in disaster relief efforts. The results have received mixed reviews.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm that left a trail of destruction and death in Acapulco in 2023, the military was praised for its rapid deployment of aid and personnel. But recovery efforts were hindered, critics say, by a lack of local knowledge and initial neglect of poorer neighborhoods and outlying communities.
The financial impact of repairs, social assistance and direct cash transfers on Mexico’s public funds has been substantial.
Just like her administration has been doing in Acapulco, Ms. Sheinbaum said on Monday, she would give instructions to dredge rivers, build embankments, rebuild bridges and raise pumping stations for flood control in the recently affected states.
So far, more than 7,300 Army soldiers and National Guard members have been deployed to help rescue and evacuate people.
Health officials have also been deployed to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue.
The rains also interrupted the power supply, leaving more than a quarter million people without electricity, though Mexico’s national power company said by Monday that power had largely been restored.
Annie Correal contributed reporting.
Emiliano Rodríguez Mega is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Mexico City, covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
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