- Hurricane style lace has caused at least 8 deaths, including 5 children from the same family.
- The storm made landfall in Mexico for the second time, with wind speeds of 200 kilometers per hour.
- A mother and her five children were among the victims. Their home was buried due to the collapse of a hillside.
On Saturday, hurricane-style lace swept across eastern Mexico, killing at least 8 people, including 5 children from the same family, causing floods, mudslides, and damage to houses and businesses.
The storm made landfall near Tecolutla in the Mexican state of Veracruz for the second time and became a major category three storm with wind speeds of 200 kilometers per hour.
It later failed when moving inland in the central highlands, but it was gone before causing extensive damage.
In Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz, the streets have turned into muddy brown rivers.
The governor of the state of Veracruz, Quetravac García, said at a press conference that seven people died there and one more died in Poza Rica.
The victims included a mother and her five children, who were buried when the hillside of their small house collapsed.
Their father, Adan Moreno, who witnessed the tragedy, said: “I heard a loud noise on the roof, and I went out to take a look.”
“I heard the sound of the earth collapsing. The hill was washed away, and they were all there, my wife and six children,” he told AFP, his voice broken.
He dug the mud with the help of relatives, but only one child was pulled out alive.
His wife and five other children, including a two-week-old baby girl, did not survive.
‘It was destroyed’
There are about 24,000 people on the streets of Tecolutla, and there are fallen trees, signs and roof slabs everywhere.
Esteban Dominguez’s seaside restaurant was razed to the ground.
“This is a long-term effort,” he said.
“There is my house, but it is destroyed. I don’t have a roof or furniture,” he said.
Many households in the area do not have electricity.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Grace dissipated as it moved inland and flooded Mexico City, but it may develop into a new cyclone in the Pacific next week.
Due to the threat of river flooding and landslides, the Mexican authorities remain vigilant, mainly in Veracruz.
President Andres Manuel López Obrador expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
He said on Friday night that nearly 8,000 civil defense members, soldiers and power committee staff are on standby, preparing to deal with the aftermath of the storm.
Veracruz State authorities said they have prepared 200 storm shelters and urged residents to hide in safe places.
They closed most of the highways in Veracruz, where many rivers pass.
Fishermen are affected
In response to the storm, coastal workers used planks to seal windows to protect shops, fishermen put boats ashore, and residents protected their homes after hoarding canned food and water.
Isabel Pastrana Vázquez, head of the Veracruz Fishery Cooperative Federation, said: “We will have no fishing for many days-nearly a week.”
He said: “About 35,000 fishermen will be affected because we cannot go out.”
In the coastal tourist town of Casitas, fisherman Domingo Hernandez said that the roof of his house was torn off.
“The entire sheet was blown off. I was holding it there,” he said, and his boat was undamaged, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.
Earlier this week, the hurricane had struck Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, forcing thousands of tourists to hide in shelters, but without causing casualties.
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