Four women died last night as a result of torrential rains in Puebla and Durango. In Puebla, firefighters recovered the bodies of three women who had reportedly boarded a patrol car driven by the Ocoyucan municipal police commander, Agustín Malo, intending to cross the Atoyac River, which had overflowed due to the rains. However, the official vehicle was swept away by the current, and the officer has not yet been found. Meanwhile, a woman died after falling into the Acequia Grande canal in the city of Durango during a storm.
Authorities in Puebla identified the victims as Silvia Gracida, Claudia Bonilla, and Concepción Márquez. They perished in patrol car number 030, which was swept away by the overflowing Atoyac River near the Humberto Vidal neighborhood of Santa Clara Ocoyucan.
According to the official report, the vehicle was located yesterday at midday near 11th South Street in the municipal seat of Ocoyucan.
According to initial investigations, Commander Malo reportedly assisted the three women when he responded to a distress call in the Humberto Vidal neighborhood.
Apparently, Malo did not have the opportunity to report the situation to his superiors, so it was only when the bodies were found that it was discovered the victims had been traveling in the vehicle. Diving teams were dispatched to the area to locate the officer’s body.
In addition, at least 50 homes were affected by flooding resulting from Wednesday’s rainfall in the Lomas del Valle neighborhood, in the southern part of Puebla City, between Riba and Ramales Sultanes streets, where the water level reached approximately one meter, submerging five vehicles.
Meanwhile, the body of a 42-year-old woman, identified as Claudia, was found. She had been swept away by the swollen current of the Acequia Grande canal in the city of Durango. The body was located this Thursday several kilometers from the site where the accident apparently occurred, in the Héctor Mayagoytia neighborhood, around 6:40 p.m. the day before yesterday.
Meanwhile, heavy rains continued across much of the state of Durango, primarily in the mountainous region. The highest rainfall totals were reported in the municipalities of Tamazula, Guanaceví, Tepehuanes, and Santiago Papasquiaro; in the latter, it was reported that in one community the water level exceeded one meter.
Despite the rainfall during June and the first days of July, the average storage in Durango’s 10 main dams is at 29.5 percent. Two of these reservoirs remain in critical condition, with only 20 percent of their capacity: the San Gabriel and Lázaro Cárdenas dams, both located in the northern part of the state.
Source: jornada
