Hurricane Agatha hits Mexico, 11 die
OAXACA, MEXICO: At least 33 people remained missing and 11 were confirmed dead on Wednesday after Hurricane Agatha swept through Mexico, local officials said.
The storm made landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast Monday, the strongest since record keeping began in 1949, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
It triggered heavy rains and deadly flooding.
“There are 33 (people) missing and 11 deaths basically in the upper area of the coast,” Oaxaca state governor Alejandro Murat said in a video call on Wednesday.
Two people aged 18 and 21 years old died when part of a hill collapsed in the community of Santa Catarina Xanaguia, according to the Oaxaca civil protection office.
Another woman died and her son was injured in a landslide in Llano del Chillar, the office said.
Agatha made landfall near Puerto Angel in Oaxaca as a Category Two hurricane - the second lowest on a scale of five with winds of 165 kmph.
Death toll in Brazilian floods rises to 106
At least 106 people have died and 10 are still missing in Brazil, the government said on Tuesday, as heavy rains tore through urban towns in the northeastern part of the country for a sixth consecutive day.
The governor of the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Paulo Camara, in an interview with local media, said the government’s priority was to find those still missing amid mudslides and major flooding.
“We will not stop until we find all those missing. This is a fundamental point at the moment,” Camara said.
The National Civil Defence said on Twitter that an alert was in place for the “very high” possibility of more flooding in Pernambuco, including its capital, Recife.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro visited the state on Tuesday and flew over the affected areas. He promised to send help and resources to families who had been impacted.