Heavy rains and flash floods across central and southeastern Mexico have killed at least 27 people and left dozens more missing, officials said, as rescue teams race to reach isolated communities and assess widespread damage to homes, schools and hospitals. The toll and scope of the disaster vary between agency reports, with some outlets putting the death total slightly higher as search operations continue.
The central state of Hidalgo has been among the hardest hit. Civil protection authorities there reported 16 fatalities, and said landslides and overflowing rivers damaged or inundated roughly 1,000 homes and hundreds of schools. In Puebla, governors and local officials reported at least nine deaths and multiple people still unaccounted for; authorities there also described large numbers of affected residents and damaged infrastructure. Veracruz reported more flood deaths and major impacts in cities such as Poza Rica, where rivers burst their banks. Several other states — including Querétaro and San Luis Potosí — have reported fatalities, evacuations and road closures.
The flooding has damaged critical infrastructure. Officials told reporters that hospitals and clinics were among the facilities affected, with some local authorities reporting dozens of medical centers and hundreds of schools damaged or taken out of service. Power outages and ruptured roads have hampered relief efforts; one report said nearly 320,000 users experienced power cuts and that close to 1,000 km (about 620 miles) of roads had been damaged in several states. A landslide in one region also tore through a gas pipeline, adding to concerns about secondary hazards.
The federal government and military have been mobilized. President Claudia Sheinbaum said federal agencies and the armed forces were assisting with evacuations, clearing roads and restoring services; the Defence Ministry and other agencies have deployed thousands of personnel, boats, helicopters and vehicles to affected areas. Local authorities have opened shelters for displaced families while search-and-rescue teams continue to comb landslide zones and flooded neighbourhoods.
Meteorologists say the heavy rainfall was driven by multiple weather systems that have lingered over Mexico’s interior and Pacific coast. Forecasters warned that downpours could continue in some regions over the next 48–72 hours, complicating rescue and recovery operations and raising the risk of more landslides and river overflows. Emergency services urged people in flood-prone valleys and mountain communities to follow evacuation orders and avoid travel until waters recede.
English