At least 11 people have died and 33 more are missing from Oaxaca, Mexico after Hurricane Agatha brought deadly flooding and landslides to the southern state, Oaxaca Gov. Alejandro Murat said Wednesday.
Agatha — the strongest hurricane to hit Mexico’s Pacific coast in the month of May since record-keeping began in 1949 — made landfall as a category two hurricane Monday.
It slammed a stretch of small beach towns and fishing villages with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and moved inland to Oaxaca’s mountain regions, where it lost much of its strength.
Agatha brought torrential rainfall that caused rivers to overflow and mountainsides to rapidly erode.
More than 40,000 people in the state were impacted by the storm, Murat said. Many have lost power or saw their homes destroyed.
Most of the 11 victims were either buried in landslides or drowned in flash floods they were swept away with.
Hurricane Agatha struck Mexico, leaving at least 11 dead and 33 missing. NASA Earth Observatory/Cover Ima
The sign of a gas station lies on the floor in the aftermath of Hurricane Agatha, in San Isidro del Palmar, Oaxaca state, Mexico. REUTERS
Aerial view of the heavily damaged Puente Herradura (Herradura Bridge) after the passage of Hurricane Agatha, in Oaxaca state, Mexico. AFP via Getty ImagesAs first responders continued to search for the missing and began recovery efforts, Mexican officials were watching another potential tropical storm threat.
Forecasters said a large area of thunderstorms along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula has a 70% chance of developing into a tropical depression in the next 48 hours.
With Post wires
A man clean a street after the passage of Hurricane Agatha in Huatulco, Oaxaca state, Mexico. AFP via Getty Images
A beach is covered in rubbish and debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Agatha, in Zipolite, Oaxaca state, Mexico. REUTERS