Hurricane style lace Authorities said that torrential rains and squalls hit Mexico on Saturday, causing severe flooding and killing at least eight people, after it became one of the most powerful storms to hit the country’s Gulf Coast in years.
When Grace hit the coast near the Tecolutla resort in Veracruz with a maximum sustained wind speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) in the early days, it was a Category 3 hurricane of the Safir-Simpson Category 5 hurricane. morning.
The state government stated that eight people were killed by Grace, and six of them came from one family. The government said that except for one victim, all the other victims died in the state capital of Harapa, including a young girl who was killed in a mudslide at her home.
The local television broadcasted the severe flooding in Harappa, and the coffin of a local company was floating on a flooded street. State authorities said that the nearby Atopan River burst its banks, causing a local highway to close.
Grace also caused a power outage and cut down trees. Images posted on social media showed that heavy rain from the storm flooded buildings and cars.
Governor Quitravac García said that several rivers in Veracruz will be flooded and urged local residents to take refuge. Garcia said in a statement: “Let’s say it again: withdraw to the high ground and municipal dormitory.”
Television footage also showed that the city of Madero in the southern part of Tamaulipas near the border of Veracruz was flooded. The Francisco Madero refinery of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is located in Ciudad Madero.
Mexico City International Airport said that some flights were cancelled due to the hurricane. The national power company Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) reported that 565,000 electricity users were affected by the power outage.
Grace quickly weakened as it traversed the mountainous interior of Mexico and became a tropical storm at 10 am Central Time (1500 GMT), with a maximum wind speed of 70 mph (110 km/h). The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said it is located approximately 25 miles (40 kilometers) north-east of Mexico City.
Before Grace’s landing, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador urged the states of Veracruz, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and People in Hidalgo State go to higher ground or shelters.
Many people seem to have listened to this call.
By Sunday, the NHC predicts that Grace will pour 6 to 12 inches (15-30 cm) of rain in large areas of eastern and central Mexico, and 18 inches (45 cm) in some areas. It said that heavy rainfall may cause flash floods and urban floods in the region.
Veracruz and its waters have multiple oil facilities, including Pemex’s port in Coatzacoalcos and the Lazaro Cardenas refinery in Minatitlan in the south.
Grace hit the land well in the north of these cities.
Authorities said that earlier this week, Grace attacked the Caribbean coast of Mexico, felling trees and causing power outages of nearly 700,000 people, but no lives were lost.
It also caused heavy rains in Jamaica and Haiti, which are still affected by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake.
— Stefanie Eschenbacher in Mexico City, Tamara Corro in Tecolutla and Anirudh Saligrama in Bangalore; supplementary reporting by Diego Ore in Mexico City; writing by Dave Graham
