Heavy Rain Hits Central Mexico, Killing 2 and Damaging Homes

Mudslides triggered by heavy rain killed two people and injured three others in central Mexico on Thursday, while flooding damaged hundreds of homes.

A 60-year-old farmer was killed when a hillside gave way while he was working in his fields in a village about 100 miles from Mexico City. A 60-year-old woman and a 6-year-old boy who were with the farmer were injured in the slide and taken to a nearby hospital.

Another mudslide just outside Mexico City killed a 10-year-old boy while he was walking early Thursday along a hillside, the government news agency Notimex reported. Rescue workers also pulled an 18-year-old man from the debris. He remained in serious condition at a nearby hospital.

Meanwhile, intense rain in Mexico state caused a river carrying sewage to overflow its banks, flooding residents out of their homes and prompting authorities to shut down a highway.

More than 5,600 people in seven neighborhoods in the Chalco Valley east of the capital and nearby areas were affected by the flooding that damaged more than 800 homes.

Water levels in some areas rose to more than 6 1/2 feet, forcing the closure of a portion of the highway between Mexico City and nearby Puebla state.

Live television broadcasts showed people being rescued with rafts, and cars abandoned for miles in both directions on the highway.