Flash Flood in Northern Mexico Kills 21

Yahoo! News ^ | Apr 05, 2004 | AP

[yonif]

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico - A flash flood swept through a border town in northern Mexico, forcing a river over its banks, and washing away houses and cars. At least 21 were reported dead, and dozens more missing, officials said Monday.

The U.S. Border Patrol sent two helicopters to help locate survivors stranded on rooftops after floodwaters rose over the only bridge that connects Piedras Negras with other towns in northern Coahuila state. On Monday, Mexican government-owned helicopters arrived from the Coahuila state capital of Saltillo.

Piedras Negras is located just across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas, and about 150 miles southwest of San Antonio.

Heavy rains began on Sunday, forcing water levels to rise in the Escondido River by 25 feet. The rains intensified around midnight, provoking a flash flood that overwhelmed hundreds of houses in the Villa de Fuente neighborhood of Piedras Negras in a matter of 15 minutes, city officials said.

"Houses were completely swept away. Cars flipped over, some on top of each other," Piedras Negras spokeswoman Marcela Aguirre told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "There is no power, no gas, no water."

At least 21 people were killed, Aguirre said. Two of the victims were young children, and more than half were elderly, Piedras Negras Red Cross President Alfonso Bres said. Another 60 people were reported missing, Bres said.

"Several senior citizens basically did not have the strength to resist," he said.

Officials feared the death toll would rise.

While floodwaters had receded, emergency workers continued to patrol the city, moving residents from low-lying neighborhoods to four shelters in case floodwaters return. Some evacuees were treated for hypothermia and the Red Cross was seeking donations of dry clothing and food.

"There are warnings that another wave of water could arrive," Bres said. "We're calling on the people to not return to their houses."

A list of at least 60 missing people was circulated at the shelters as families attempted to reunite.

"What's going on now is a chaos of information," Bres said.

Piedras Negras Mayor Claudio Bres and Coahuila governor Enrique Martinez were to tour the area later Monday to review the damages.

In neighboring Tamaulipas state, officials were on alert for possible flooding from the Rio Grande River, which was rising and expected to crest early Tuesday.

"We are evacuating those who live in the area to avoid risks," said Rafael Sandoval Hernandez, a Civil Protection official from the Tamaulipas border city of Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas.

[vetvetdoug]

This is in the "Yellow Dog" democrat part of Texas. Any cleansing of this area by floodwaters would be an improvement. A rental car driven into this area is asking for trouble, whether its Eagle Pass or Piedras Negras.

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[MEG33]

That is not a humane response.I don't wish to cleanse a democrat stronghold by flood and death...and you shouldn't either.

[vetvetdoug]

You should have your sinuses cleaned out the next time you travel to Eagle Pass or Piedras Negras. I was reared near there and have no love for the individuals that inhabit that area because of their lack of ethics, respect toward whites and lack of honesty. Even rental car companies won't let you drive a rental car from San Antonio to Ciudad Acuna or Piedras Negras because of the high rate of crime that those in rental cars are privileged to experience. I was referring to the stench that is so prevalent to both of those cities because of the inhabitants.