Tropical depression Hanna hits northern Mexico with heavy rains and flash floods

Hanna hit southern Texas and northeastern Mexico both as a hurricane, the first of the Atlantic season, and as a tropical storm with strong winds and heavy rains .

This year, tropical storms Arthur and Bertha were formed before the official beginning of the hurricane season, which began on June 1 and will continue until November 30, and were followed by Cristóbal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, and Hanna.

The current hurricane season will have between 13 and 19 named storms (with winds of up to 65 kph), of which six to 10 could become hurricanes (with winds of 119 kph).

From those hurricanes, three to six could become major, that is, with maximum sustained winds of 178 kph, according to the NOAA.

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Now a tropical depression , Hanna was 105 km north of Fresnillo in the Mexican state of Zacatecas as its winds weakened to about 40 kph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Its remnants still threatened to bring rainfall and flash flooding to waterlogged parts of South Texas and Northern Mexico.

Hurricane Hanna

, which weakened into a tropical depression, hit northern Mexico, mainly Nuevo León and northern Tamaulipas, where rains were registered on Sunday during most of the day.

In the aftermath of Hanna, which dumped up to 41 centimeters of rain in some parts of South Texas and Northern Mexico, officials reported two people died in the northern Mexican city of Ramos Arizpe, near Monterrey, after torrents of water unleashed by Hanna swept their vehicle away. Three people were reported missing in Monterrey and three more were missing in the border city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas, according to Mexico’s national civil defense office.

Hanna blew ashore as a Category 1 storm late Saturday afternoon with winds of 145 kph not far from Port Mansfield, which is about 210 kilometers south of Corpus Christi, Texas.

In the Mexican city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, more than 1,300 asylum seekers, including newborns and elderly people, at a refugee camp braced for the impact of flooding from the Rio Grande due to Hanna . The river was expected to rise and likely flood the camp in the next few days.

Chloe Rastatter, a volunteer engineer at the camp, said United Nations representatives have been working with Mexican authorities to plan for the relocation of the migrants.

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Tamaulipas

In the Mexican border city of Reynosa, a maternity hospital was damaged by heavy rain , with some patients moved to upper floors and others evacuated to other facilities, said Pedro Granados, director of civil protection for Tamaulipas state.

According to witnesses and videos share don social media, the hospital flooded and although the staff tried to stop the water from coming in and rising, their efforts were to no avail.

At Reynosa, Tamaulipas, the Mexican Army implemented the DN-III Plan to help the population of at least 70 neighborhoods that were flooded.

Local Civil Protection services reported three minors were seen falling from a tree where they were looking for shelter and were dragged by the water flow at the Paseo Residencial neighborhood, so a rescue unit was searching for them.

The army also rescued families that were trapped on their home’s ceilings near Condado del Norte and, along with Civil Protection, helped the passengers of a bus that was stranded at the Granjas neighborhood.

In addition, some 80 people had to be evacuated from there in different parts of the city due to the serious damage they suffered from Hanna . Families were also rescued from five vehicles that were trapped by the water.

Nuevo León

At Nuevo León, floods caused by heavy rain from Hanna dragged several people although they were successfully rescued, except for a minor who has been missing since Saturday after falling at the Topo Chico creek, as informed by authorities.

Due to the floods, the state government suspended public transport since 14:00.

Moreover, in order to prevent tragedies, flooded overpasses and streets were closed.

There were also floods in Saltillo, Coahuila. The Ramos Arizpe municipality reported three people were missing, including a minor, after being dragged by water at the El Saucillo creek.

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