Chetumal, QR. An intense rain on Friday night and early yesterday in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, with its head in Chetumal, caused floods of up to 1.20 meters high in some areas. More than a thousand people had to be rescued from homes, vehicles and shopping malls by members of the Army and Navy. State Civil Protection enabled three temporary shelters, authorities announced.
They detailed that the precipitation began around 8:30 p.m. lightly, but intensified between 11 and 12 at night and continued into the early hours of Saturday.
The rain surprised many people who were in the city’s shopping centers and restaurants, so they were forced to take shelter. The water level rose very quickly and prevented road traffic.
He also invaded dozens of homes. Many families lost all their belongings, others reported that they could not get out, so they were rescued by military and civil protection personnel. In total, 1,564 people were taken to safe places.
At a press conference yesterday morning, representatives of the three levels of government stated that in the early hours of Saturday the water level had dropped in 147 neighborhoods, but there were still flooding in the city.
They indicated that three teams of free service tow trucks were available to recover vehicles stuck on roads and emergency telephones were enabled to assist those who requested the service.
The Secretary of State Government, Cristina Torres, explained that too much water fell in a very short time, so the condition of the soil was not able to permeate all the liquid.
He highlighted that they enabled three temporary shelters; 50 people were taken to the Eva Sámano de López Mateos Technical Baccalaureate Study Center.
He added that no major incidents had been reported in rural communities and that the helicopter from the Ministry of Citizen Security was flying over the areas.
The head of Tourism, Bernardo Cueto Riestra, indicated that thousands staying in the hotels in the state capital did not report any mishap and in the properties they only reported slight flooding.
Civil Protection and the Ministry of Public Works reported that they will continue with the cleaning of sewers and areas that require desilting.
On the other hand, boatmen reported that 10 of their boats sank in the Tulum National Park, in the municipality of Tulum. They said that elements of the National Guard and the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas did not allow them to enter the area to secure them.
We are devastated by what happened. The rains were severe and our boats could not resist. We requested permission to protect them, but the authorities denied us entry to the park.
said Francisco Cámara, one of those affected. The National Water Commission anticipated that the rains will continue for five more days in the entity.
With information from La Jornada Maya
