Two people died, vehicles were swept away by powerful floodwaters and six neighborhoods were flooded after torrential rains struck Ecatepec, México state, Monday.
Authorities identified the victims as a 39-year-old woman who was carried away by the current in a street in the neighborhood of Tulpetlac, and a 73-year-old man who was in a building that collapsed.
The downpours lasted around 90 minutes and affected more than 19 neighborhoods, home to some 120,000-150,000 residents. The Ecatepec general hospital also flooded causing damage to the emergency ward and operating rooms.
In one street where floodwaters ran like a river, a man rescued a baby by negotiating his way through the current in water nearly waist high.
Samuel Gutiérrez, the state’s head of Civil Protection, said authorities were well placed to repair the damage. “All government agencies, both municipal and state, are already in place and with specialized teams from CAEM [the state of México’s water commission] working to lower the water levels … we will be able to assess the damages,” he said.
With reports from El Universal, CNN and Milenio
