The more recent developments of the 19-E tropical depression through the gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean have left a series of severe damages due to heavy rainfalls registered last Wednesday and Thursday in Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa , where elements of the Mexican army and the navy have applied their contingency plans to help thousands of people that have been affected so far.
In Sinaloa, the heavy rain left a toll of four dead, thousands of houses and ranches flooded in at least six municipalities , in addition to 3,152 people who have been evacuated from their homes , flooded roads, and river overflows.
After touring the flooded areas of Los Mochis , Sinaloa, governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel informed of an urgent request for a declaration of a state of emergency and, during the night, the Ministry of Interior announced the activation of the Response Fund grants for natural disasters (FONDEN) in 11 municipalities: Ahome, El Fuerte, Choix, Guasave, Sinaloa, Angostura, Salvador Alvarado, Mocorito, Badiraguato, Navolato, and Culiacán .
Yesterday
, through their social media, state dependencies indicated that there had been several calls to help victims that are currently living in shelter homes, asking for basic products and clothes. In ahome, the secretary of Sustainable Development, Álvaro Ruelas Echave , indicated that 1,852 people were evacuated from their homes and put in temporary shelters. He commented that, once the river flows descended, they were able to rescue seven more people who had become trapped in their homes in Chihuahuita , as well as the passengers of a bus that was stranded in Higueras de Zaragoza . In Los Mochis, a man who fell over a power take was left unconscious and died from drowning.
The state government announced the suspension of schools of all levels in nine municipalities , since the weather forecast predicted more rain today.
In the state of Sonora , civil protection authorities reported damages in 13 out of 72 municipalities due to heavy rainfalls. Governor Claudia Pavlovich requested the declaration of state of emergency in 13 municipalities and school was suspended in 18 municipalities. According to CONAGUA ’s weather forecast, heavy storms of 150 to 250 millimeters are expected in the state of Sonora and northern Sinaloa.
dm