Mexico storms: Hurricane Manuel upgraded and near coast

BBC News online -- 19 September 2013

The BBC's Will Grant says villages have been cut off by floodwaters

US meteorologists say Tropical Storm Manuel, which has battered the south-west of Mexico, has gathered strength and is now a category one hurricane.

Hurricane Manuel is now approaching north-western Mexico and threatens more destruction, the US National Hurricane Centre says.

Tropical storms Manuel and Ingrid left at least 80 people earlier this week.
Another 58 people are missing after the village of La Pintada in Guerrero state was buried in a landslide.

Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said rescue workers had not yet been able to search for survivors because conditions remained dangerous, with water gushing down the hillside where the collapse had happened.

Residents of La Pintada, a remote village of about 600 people north-west of Acapulco, described how the hillside buried their homes as they were holding independence day celebrations on Monday evening.

The landslide tore through the middle of the village, destroying the church, the school and the kindergarten.

"We were eating when it thundered, and when the mountain collapsed the homes were swept away and the thundering noise became louder," Erika Guadalupe Garcia told AFP news agency.

Landslides have cut off major highways linking Acapulco to Mexico City

Damaged bridges have left tens of thousands of people stranded

Residents tried to salvage their possessions during a short break in the rain

Thousands had to queue for food rations in Acapulco

Those in more remote areas have been relying on air drops for their food

Others fished for carp in a pond at one of Acapulco's golf courses

 

Ana Clara Catalan, 17, described the noise as "ugly, worse than a bomb".
"More than half of La Pintada was demolished, few homes were left," Maria del Carmen Catalan said.

Most of the residents have been now been evacuated by helicopter.
Guerrero state Governor Angel Aguirre said it was "very likely that these 58 missing people lost their lives".

With roads flooded and communication lines down, news of the landslide only emerged after a resident managed to radio someone in a neighbouring village.

Meteorologists said Mexico was experiencing "unusual" weather as it was hit by two tropical storms - Manuel and Ingrid - within the space of 24 hours - something which had not happened in Mexico since 1958.

Ingrid made landfall on Monday in the town of La Pesca on Mexico's Gulf Coast. It mainly affected the state of Tamaulipas, where thousands of people were moved from low-lying areas to higher ground.

Mexico's state oil company Pemex also evacuated three platforms off the coast of Tamaulipas and closed two dozen wells.

And now the north-western coast is threatened as Hurricane Manuel, with sustained winds of up to 120km/h (75mph), is slowly moving north along the coast of Sinaloa state.

It is already causing torrential rains in Sinaloa and forecasters have warned it could trigger flash flooding and landslides.

Meanwhile, the south-western state of Guerrero is still struggling to recover from when it was it hit by Manuel on Sunday.

More than 10,000 tourists have been airlifted by military planes out of the resort town of Acapulco, where they had been stranded since the weekend.

Acapulco's civilian airport was flooded and a power cut has meant most flights have been grounded for days.

Officials said it would take at least another day to reopen the main highways leading out of Acapulco.
Renewed rainfall could further delay the clean-up.

Tens of thousands of residents continue to live in shelters and are dependent on food being dropped from helicopters.

Several stores have been looted and residents of the outskirts of Acapulco have complained about being left to fend for themselves.

"If we can't work, we have to come and get something to eat," a 60-year-old fisherman told the Associated Press news agency as he stood outside a looted supermarket.