At least 37 people killed in flooding caused by tropical storms in Mexico
The storms have caused devastation nationwide as rains are expected to continue through Sunday.
Extreme rainfall in Mexico kills several, dozens missing
At least 37 people have died and others are missing in Mexico after flooding set off by heavy rainfall caused landslides and damaged homes and highways, authorities say.
Downpours in central and southeastern parts of the country led to overflowing rivers, road collapses and power cuts in some municipalities, the national coordinator for civil defence, Laura Velazquez, said on Friday.
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Civil defence authorities reported intense rainfall in 31 of 32 states with the worst affected areas being Veracruz in the east, Queretaro and Hidalgo in the centre, and the north-central state of San Luis Potosi.
Authorities in Hidalgo reported at least 22 people dead, 1,000 homes damaged and 90 communities inaccessible to rescuers, the federal security secretariat said.
It said at least nine people died in neighbouring Puebla state. About 80,000 people have been affected by the extreme weather in Puebla alone, the state government said.
In the state of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico, five people died, including a police officer, according to its state governor. About 5,000 homes were damaged, and the navy evacuated nearly 900 people to shelters.
Earlier, authorities in Queretaro confirmed that a child had died after being caught in a landslide.
The heavy rainfall also caused power outages affecting more than 320,000 users and damage to almost 1,000km (621 miles) of roads in six states, authorities said.
Tras las fuertes lluvias, la Secretaría de Marina (@SEMAR_mx ) desplegó tres mil 300 elementos en Puebla, Veracruz y San Luis Potosí.
También puso a disposición 18 embarcaciones, seis helicópteros, tres plantas potabilizadoras, tres aviones, tres cocinetas y cuatro mil… pic.twitter.com/O7ES5XBoKC
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) October 11, 2025
Translation: After the heavy rains, the Secretariat of the Navy (@SEMAR_mx ) deployed 300 personnel in Puebla, Veracruz and San Luis Potosí. It also made available 18 vessels, six helicopters, three water purification plants, three aircraft, three mobile kitchens and 4,000 food baskets ready to be distributed.
“We are working to support the population, open roads and restore electrical services,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said after a meeting with local officials and cabinet members. She shared photos of emergency responders carrying supplies as they waded knee-deep in flooded streets.
The country has deployed more than 8,700 military personnel to help monitor, evacuate and clean up affected areas. Shelters were open for those displaced from their homes.
The main disaster area has been Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range that runs parallel to the Gulf of Mexico coast. It is dotted by small communities, many of which were blocked off on Friday.
Mexico has been hit by particularly heavy rains throughout 2025, and a rainfall record was set in the capital, Mexico City.
Tropical Storm Raymond is currently off the country’s Pacific coast, dumping heavy rains as it moves northwards. It is projected to make landfall in Mexico on Sunday.
Raymond was announced on Thursday by the United States National Hurricane Center, making it the third system this week off the western coast of Mexico. It joined Tropical Storm Priscilla and post-Tropical Cyclone Octave, which threatened heavy rains and flooding in their paths.
Authorities in areas on the Pacific coast on Saturday were continuing to keep a close eye on Raymond and remnants of Priscilla.
Both storms dumped heavy rains on western Mexico, causing damage in Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Michoacan states.
Meteorologists have warned that the Pacific Ocean cooling pattern called La Nina, which can warp weather worldwide and turbocharge hurricanes, has returned.
It may be too late in the hurricane season to impact tropical weather in the Atlantic, but this La Nina may have other impacts from heavy rains to drought across the globe.
Raymond is expected to hit the southern part of Baja California over the weekend, according to the US National Hurricane Center, and is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression by Sunday.