Sonora was devastated by heavy flooding on the weekend, leaving at least one youth dead, thousands of homes flooded, cutting off remote communities and destroying highways.
The chaos followed heavy rains which arrived on Friday and continued through Sunday.
A father witnessed his 17-year-old son drown in a river by the Nacapule Canyon in Guaymas, while thousands of families were flooded and some cut off in rural areas of Guaymas and Empalme.
At least 600 people were evacuated from a community in the former municipality before nearby rivers burst their banks.
Implementa Protección Civil Sonora intenso operativo de rescate en comunidades rurales de Guaymas y Empalme
-Se estima que podrían ser evacuadas de zonas de riesgo hasta 600 personas de varias comisarías afectadas por las recientes lluviashttps://t.co/YnJWne1met pic.twitter.com/3lI9hg43dU— Protección Civil Sonora (@cepcsonora) August 20, 2022
Governor Alfonso Durazo said four adults and two girls were rescued after getting trapped in a car trying to cross a river in Empalme.
The navy reported rescuing three people in the El Ojaí ranch and one elderly person in La Atravesada. The ministry said another person who ignored warnings was rescued after trying to drive through a river in Nacozari.
Lasting damage was also done to road infrastructure. The “El Valiente” vehicular bridge at kilometer 138 of the Hermosillo-Guaymas highway collapsed on Sunday.
A section of the Obregón-Empalme highway was also closed, at kilometer 108. At least one side of the Hermosillo-Puerto Libertad highway was also put out of use and parts of the Nogales-Mexico City highway were disabled by the rainfall.
🔴 ¡El puente Buenavista del libramiento Obregón-Guaymas dañado por el agua!
Se reportó una peligrosa erosión en el puente, cerca de la caseta de pago. Se deben extremar precauciones
📹 @Red933MX pic.twitter.com/WSZKah8vLJ— Proyecto Puente (@ProyectoPuente) August 20, 2022
However, there has been at least one beneficiary of the rainfall in the northwest of the country. The Cusárare waterfall in Guachochi, Chihuahua, was filmed flowing majestically on Wednesday after more than two years of drought.
The waterfall, which became a sad spectacle of two small streams trickling down, has now returned to its full force with water crashing down its 30-meter descent.
More heavy rain was forecast for Sonora on Monday and very heavy rain was forecast for Sinaloa, Chihuahua and Durango.
With reports from Milenio, Reforma, El Universal, El Heraldo de Juárez and El Diario
