Flooding Leaves 31 Dead in Mexican Border City

A deluge sent floodwaters cascading over the banks of a Rio Grande tributary and into what is normally one of the driest parts of Mexico early Monday, killing at least 31 people in the northern border city of Piedras Negras.

Marcela Aguirre, a spokeswoman for the city government, said 60 people were reported missing as water from the Escondido River raged through four working-class neighborhoods in a matter of minutes, destroying or damaging about 600 homes and 300 cars. At least 3,500 people were evacuated.

“Houses were completely swept away,” Aguirre said. “Cars flipped over, some on top of each other. There were people stranded up in trees, on the rooftops of houses and shops.”

The storm knocked out electricity and thunderclouds blocked the moonlight, hindering rescue efforts. Two U.S. Border Patrol helicopters equipped with searchlights arrived from Del Rio, a nearby Texas city, and plucked 32 people to safety, many of them from rooftops, officials said. Mexican government helicopters arrived later.

Paul Berg, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Del Rio station, said many of the victims lived in shanties built in “low spots where nobody else would build and which get flooded out first when these things happen.” About half the dead were elderly people too weak to flee the flooding that sent as much as 7 feet of water into low-lying streets.

By midday, the rain had stopped and the water was receding, but police kept the evacuated area sealed off, fearing more flooding. To help families locate missing relatives, radio announcers read names of people checking into emergency shelters at schools and factories.

Mexico’s Interior Ministry declared a state of emergency in Piedras Negras and San Juan de Sabinas, a flooded town to the southwest, making both municipalities eligible for federal money to help clean up and rebuild. Mexican President Vicente Fox was scheduled to tour the flood-ravaged area Monday night.

Many of Piedras Negras’ 200,000 residents arrived in the last decade from other areas of Mexico to work in assembly plants. The industrial city, in Coahuila state, is about 150 miles southwest of San Antonio.

Among the worst hit areas was the Villa Fuente suburb consisting largely of substandard housing, Berg said. City officials said it was the first time the Escondido River, usually dry except for sewage runoff, had overflowed.

Farther south, the Alamos River also spilled over into populated areas of San Juan de Sabinas, damaging dozens of homes. Officials there said four people were missing.

Northern Mexico has had an unusual amount of rain this year. The rains in and around Piedras Negras began 15 days ago. Five inches fell late Sunday, and the Escondido rose by 25 feet. Flash flood warnings will remain in effect for Piedras Negras through this afternoon.

The same storm dumped 4 inches of rain and large hail on West Texas, partially collapsing a bridge on Interstate 20.

Emergency workers patrolled Piedras Negras on Monday, moving residents from flooded areas to shelters and clearing away fallen trees.

Some evacuees were treated for hypothermia, and the Red Cross was seeking donations of clothing and food.

“They are coming in without clothing, bruised up and practically freezing to death because they’re all wet,” said Raul Hernandez, president of the city’s Lions Club, which is serving as a shelter. “We are giving them clothing, food, and drinking water. The restaurants are bringing free food.”

City officials urged people not to return home. “There are warnings that another wave of water could arrive,” said Alfonso Bres, president of the Piedras Negras chapter of the Red Cross.