Tropical Storm Narda is moving north along Mexico’s Pacific coast, leaving a trail of extensive damage to infrastructure and at least one death.
Narda made landfall in Oaxaca on Saturday before being temporarily downgraded to a tropical depression. But after delivering destructive rain and wind to states along the coast over the weekend, the storm gained strength and was upgraded back to a tropical storm on Monday.
According to Oaxaca Civil Protection Secretary Heliodoro Díaz Escárraga, a 26-year-old man disappeared on Saturday in the municipality of San Pedro Mixtepec, and was found dead the next day. Díaz said he was probably carried away by the strong current of a river he was attempting to cross.
The rains also caused a landslide in Santa Catarina Juquila which buried a butcher shop and a clothing store, although no one was injured. Thirteen Oaxaca municipalities suffered serious damage, especially in the Costa and Mixteca regions.
In Acapulco, Guerrero, floodwaters dragged three vehicles off the roads, and flooding damaged a public hospital.
In Jalisco, Civil Protection evacuated 450 people from coastal regions before the storm hit early Monday morning. When it did, it brought wind gusts at speeds higher than 60 kilometers per hour and heavy rain, causing landslides, overflowing rivers and damage to 248 houses.
A search was under way for someone who authorities fear may have died in the town of Yelapa, Cabo Corrientes, after the Yelapa river broke its banks. Yelapa has been isolated by the flooding and can only be reached by air or sea.
At 11:00am CDT, on Monday, Narda was located 80 kilometers south of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, and 75 kilometers west of El Roblito, Nayarit, according to the National Meteorological System (SMN). It forecast that Narda will reach northern Sinaloa by Tuesday morning, and the state of Sonora on Wednesday, after which it will once again be downgraded to a tropical depression.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for San Blas, Nayarit, to Guaymas, Sonora, and for Islas Marías.
The SMN said Narda will cause intense rains in seven states, and very heavy rains in another 17, including Mexico City.
Schools have suspended classes across Guerrero, Nayarit and Colima, and in some municipalities in Jalisco, Sinaloa and Oaxaca.
Source: Milenio (sp), El Universal (sp), Proceso (sp), Infobae (sp)
