At least 41 dead in Mexico floods

Floods caused by torrential rains have killed at least 41 people in Mexico in recent days and left behind widespread destruction, the government announced on Saturday.

Mexican civil protection authorities reported intense rains in 31 of 32 states, causing rivers to overflow, flooding entire villages, causing landslides and collapsing roads and bridges.

The central state of Hidalgo is among the worst-hit regions, with authorities reporting at least 22 deaths, 1,000 homes damaged and 90 communities inaccessible to rescuers, the federal security secretariat said.

The neighboring state of Puebla is said to have caused at least nine deaths.

About 80,000 people were affected by the extreme weather in Puebla alone, the state government said.

Flooding killed five people in the eastern state of Veracruz and one in the central Mexican state of Queretaro, officials said.

“We are deploying members and teams from the Mexican government to open roads and help communities,” President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X.

She added that thousands of troops as well as boats, planes and helicopters were deployed to help with the rescue efforts.

The military will help distribute aid to affected areas, with more than 10,000 troops deployed, as well as relief equipment and vehicles.

Shelters were opened for people displaced from their homes.

The main disaster area was the Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range parallel to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

It is dotted with small communities, many of which were blocked off Friday.

An AFP team in Tulancingo, a town in Hidalgo state, found roads leading to the mountains closed due to landslides and cave-ins.

Cold front ahead

Mexico has been hit by particularly heavy rains throughout 2025, with a record rainfall set in the capital Mexico City.

Meteorologist Isidro Cano told AFP that the intense rains on Thursday were due to a change in season and the formation of clouds as warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico rose to mountain peaks.

A cold front coming from the north also increased precipitation in much of the country, the expert added.

Authorities in areas off the Pacific coast are closely monitoring Tropical Depression Raymond and the remnants of Priscilla, which was once a hurricane.

Both storms dumped heavy rain on western Mexico, causing damage in the states of Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Michoacan.

Raymond is expected to hit the southern part of Baja California this weekend, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

© 2025 AFP