Flooding triggered by relentless rainfall in central and southeastern Mexico has claimed at least 28 lives and caused extensive destruction, authorities said on Friday.
The downpours have unleashed landslides, inundated towns, damaged infrastructure, and left tens of thousands displaced across multiple states.
Videos circulating on social media showed vehicles being swept away by fast-moving floodwaters and homes nearly submerged as rivers burst their banks.
Mexico’s government has deployed thousands of troops and emergency personnel to assist with rescue and relief operations.
One of the worst-hit areas is the central state of Hidalgo, where 16 people have died, according to state Interior Secretary Guillermo Olivares Reyna.
More than 1,000 homes, 59 hospitals and clinics, and 308 schools have been damaged.
At least 17 of Hidalgo’s 84 municipalities were without power as rivers overflowed and landslides cut off access to several communities.
In Puebla, Governor Alejandro Armenta reported nine deaths and 13 missing persons, including children stranded on rooftops awaiting rescue.
He said around 80,000 residents were affected, and a gas pipeline had ruptured due to a landslide. Armenta urged federal assistance to reach isolated areas.
The Gulf coast state of Veracruz also reported two fatalities, including a police officer.
Governor Rocío Nahle said around 5,000 homes were damaged and nearly 900 residents were evacuated by the Navy to emergency shelters.
The city of Poza Rica was among the hardest hit, prompting authorities to cut electricity as a precaution.
In Querétaro, officials confirmed the death of a child in a landslide.
Across six states, flooding and landslides have damaged nearly 1,000 kilometers of roads and disrupted power for more than 320,000 users, according to civil protection authorities.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government was working to reopen roads and restore electricity.
“We are working to support the population, open roads and restore electrical services,” she wrote on X, sharing images of responders wading through waist-deep water to deliver supplies.
National civil defense chief Laura Velázquez said landslides, overflowing rivers and road collapses have been reported across several regions.
The military has deployed over 5,400 personnel, along with rescue vehicles, boats, planes and helicopters, to assist with evacuations and distribute aid.
Shelters have been set up for those displaced.
The Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, running parallel to the Gulf coast, has become the main disaster zone.
Many small, isolated communities there remain cut off. In Tulancingo, a key access point to the mountain villages, roads leading into the region have been blocked by landslides and collapses.
Meteorologist Isidro Cano said the heavy rains were the result of a seasonal transition combined with humid air from the Gulf of Mexico rising to meet cooler air at higher elevations.
A cold front moving south from the United States has intensified the rainfall.
Meanwhile, tropical storms Raymond and Priscilla have been dumping additional rain on Mexico’s western Pacific coast and the Baja California peninsula.
Although both systems remain offshore, they have already caused damage in Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Michoacán.
The US National Hurricane Center said Raymond is expected to reach the southern part of Baja California over the weekend before weakening into a tropical depression by Sunday.
Mexico has endured unusually heavy rainfall throughout 2025, with record precipitation levels already logged in Mexico City, adding to fears of more flooding and landslides in the weeks ahead.