They present progress in emergency care due to heavy rains and floods in Mexico

During the “La Mañanera del Pueblo” conference this Thursday, the Government of Mexico reported on the progress made to access the towns that remain cut off after the severe flooding recorded in at least five states, derived from the heavy rains last week.

In the last 24 hours, the number of isolated locations was reduced from 191 to 160. Jesús Esteva, Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation, explained that as of today, 108 municipalities continue to be affected, of which 69 were classified as priorities. Hidalgo is the most impacted state, with 28 municipalities affected and 84 communities still without land access.

“We are advancing little by little along the roads (…) First we free the federal roads, then the state ones and then the municipal ones”explained Esteva, who specified that 685 workers and 368 heavy machines remain active, in addition to an additional 323 operated by the Armed Forces, for the cleaning and reopening of roads.

Regarding the collapsed bridges, he estimated that several provisional steps could be restored in a matter of days, while the definitive reconstruction projects are already being prepared.

“They will be designed to resist rain with return periods of up to a thousand years,” he noted.

In parallel, the director of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), Emilia Calleja, reported that the electricity supply has been restored by 93%, with more than 207 thousand users reconnected in the most affected states: Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla and Querétaro.

However, 19,700 homes remain without power, mainly in areas with difficult access. To reach them, the CFE will deploy more than 100 emergency plants, some of which will be transported by military helicopters.

Calleja acknowledged that in states such as Hidalgo and Veracruz it is still necessary to transport personnel and materials by air to repair damaged infrastructure.

“We are laying more than 2.8 kilometers of high tension lines with helicopter support”he stated.

The authorities anticipate that, if weather conditions permit, land access to most of the isolated communities will be restored next week and the reconstruction of strategic bridges will be accelerated.

So far, the Mexican government has reported the deaths of 66 people due to the rains.

The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, explained on Wednesday that the federal government has classified 191 communities as “priority”, a criterion based mainly on the percentage of affected homes and announced that her government will offer daily reports on damages and support actions, and estimated that by next Monday there could be a more complete balance on affected homes.

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