Xalapa, Ver. (AVC/Perla Sandoval) A little less than 100 homes in Xalapa were damaged by Monday’s heavy rains, said Minister of Civil Protection Guadalupe Osorno Maldonado.
“We are doing checks first; there was talk of 100, but I think it will be less; the damage to some houses is significant.”
In an interview from the La Isleta neighborhood, the official said that the worst-damaged neighborhood was La Isleta, where the flood water reached two meters high, affecting businesses and homes.
“Flooding occurred in Isleta, lasting several hours; the water level was high until 6 p.m. (…) We are talking about people who lost their kitchen, their shop, and important supplies. In the Isleta neighborhood, The water reached a height of two meters. When I arrived, a mattress was floating,” he said.
He added that the National Guard provided assistance to the population and parts of the Ministry of Defense (Sedena) on Monday.
Osorno Maldonado indicated that the relevant investigations are currently being carried out, and checks will be carried out on fences and other points this Tuesday.
However, he clarified that, as stated, there had been no landslide in the Ferrer Guardia neighborhood as, according to him, it was a run-off election.
The official recalled that this Monday more than 100 millimeters fell on the Xalapa metropolitan area, and the amount that fell in a short time caused the infrastructure to collapse.
“A lot of water fell in a very short time, and that meant that no city infrastructure could withstand it. 100 millimeters fell in one hour.”
In the case of La Isleta, he said that among the factors that caused the flooding were the lack of drainage and poor waste disposal.
During the tour, the PC secretariat coordinated the relief efforts for the residents, while a person from the agency carried out the census of the affected houses and helped with the cleaning work after the rains.
He explained that the water levels in this area had risen thanks to the work of the municipal and state disaster management systems, SEDENA’s application of the DNIII plan, the National Guard plan, as well as the work of the Veracruz State Water Commission (CAEV) when the colony was shed at night.
