PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico (AP) — At least 10 people have died and another 20 are still missing after Hurricane Agatha passed through southern Mexico, leaving rivers overflowing, landslides and destroying homes and tourist areas along the coast.
The governor of the state of Oaxaca, Alejandro Murat, reported in an interview with Telefórmula on Tuesday that the balance is still preliminary and that there are minors among the disappeared.
Agatha made history as
the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in a month of May
during the eastern Pacific storm season.
An avenue in Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, flooded by the passage of Hurricane Agatha, on May 30, 2022. EFE
The eye of the storm reached Oaxaca on Monday afternoon as a powerful Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kmph), but quickly lost strength as it moved inland.
Murat pointed out that
the most damaged areas are the communities located in the upper part of the mountains
.
In Santiago Xanica, two hours from the coast, 6 dead and 10 missing were reported.
[Agatha weakens in Mexico but may become a hurricane again in the Atlantic]
The remnants of Agatha were moving northeast on Tuesday, heading toward the state of Veracruz, with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph (45 kmph).
The US National Hurricane Center reported that the storm would dissipate by afternoon, but warned that heavy rainfall from the system could cause
dangerous flash flooding in the southern states of Mexico.
The town of San Isidro del Palmar, a few kilometers from the coast, was flooded by the Tonameca River that runs through the city.
Residents waded through neck-deep waters to salvage what items they could from their homes, walking cautiously with piles of clothing on their heads and religious figures in their arms.
The remnants of Agatha will cause heavy rains in the Yucatan Peninsula
May 31, 202201:42
Argeo Aquino, who has lived in the town all his life, only remembers two other occasions when he has seen such a flood.
“The houses are totally flooded.
So they're taking everything out,” Aquino said Monday as he watched his neighbors.
“There are shops, houses.
More than anything, everything that is good material must be procured here, because everything else is going to take away, ”he added.
The brown waters of the Tonameca reached the windows of parked cars and trucks used for local transportation.
[More than 200 shelters were installed by Agatha's passage]
The intense rainfall and large waves hit the coastal town of Zipolite, known for its nudist beaches and bohemian atmosphere.
Gusts of wind were heard for about six hours on Monday, said Silvia Ranfagni, manager of the Casa Kalmar hotel in Zipolite.
"The high-pitched sound of the air, very strong, entering water... very strong," he commented.
"It started at 1 in the afternoon, when the signal was cut and it calmed down only around 7:30."
"Only God knows what will happen": Agatha makes landfall in Mexico as a category 2 hurricane
May 30, 202201:38
"Many trees, destroyed roads, bridges, houses, I don't know, but many palm or tin roofs were blown up," he added.
Agatha formed just on Sunday and quickly gained strength.
It was the strongest meteor to make landfall on record in a May in the eastern Pacific, said Jeff Masters, a meteorologist at Yale Climate Connections and founder of Weather Underground.
