Hurricane Pamela leaves severe flooding in the Mexican state of Nayarit

The passage of the cyclone Pamela, which made landfall yesterday as a Category 1 hurricane in northwest Mexico, caused severe flooding that left several communities in the north of the state of Nayarit cut off, state authorities reported Thursday.

In addition, as a result of the intense rains, there was an increase in the flow and subsequent overflow of the Acaponeta and San Pedro rivers that affected communication on the Tepic-Mazatlán highway and the accesses to the Acaponeta-Tecuala highway.

The municipalities mainly affected were Huajicori, Acaponeta, Tecuala, Tuxpan, Ruíz, Rosamorada, Santiago Ixcuintla and San Blas, in which tours of aid to citizens are carried out.

So far the authorities have not reported the loss of any human life.

In a statement, the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) of Nayarit reported that in the section of the Acaponeta-Tecuala highway a sinkhole was originated due to the pressure of the water during its passage.

In addition, the SSPC indicated that access to the municipal seat of Tecuala is disabled.

While the towns of Los Sandovales and Agua Verde continue to be flooded with a height of approximately one meter.

Meanwhile, the road that leads from Tuxpan to Peñas is disabled due to the collapse of the bridge.

The SSPC pointed out that agents of the agency together with others from the Secretaries of the Navy and National Defense, in addition to the National Guard and Civil Protection, evacuated hundreds of residents of the communities of La Bayona, Higuerita Nueva and Higuerita Vieja.

In communities where the flood level has dropped, crews have worked to lift fallen trees, collapsed structures and have inspected infrastructure with possible damage.

This Thursday, the state Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) indicated that after the cyclone it had restored supply to 90% of the 213,598 users who were affected by the presence of heavy rains and winds in the states of Nayarit, Sinaloa, Durango and Coahuila.

Before entering the territory through the state of Sinaloa, the cyclone, which formed during the past weekend, registered an unusual behavior, since on Tuesday it weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm, but strengthened again as a hurricane in the former hours on Wednesday.

After the passage of the hurricane, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) indicated in its forecasts on Wednesday that the remnants of Pamela would interact with a cold front, which would cause heavy rains (from 75 to 150 millimeters (mm)) in Coahuila, Durango, Nayarit and Sinaloa.

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