At least seven people were reported dead in flash floods in Mexico’s Periban town, AP reported on Tuesday. Search operations are on to locate five others missing after a 5-feet high wave crashed into the western town on Sunday.
Confirming the latest toll, chief of operations for the Michoacan state Civil Protection agency Eloy Giron said that hopes of locating the five people, including three children, now appeared slim. Around 40 homes located along the banks of the Cutio river were also destroyed.
The region has been experiencing unusually heavy rainfall and an overflowing Cutio created a wall of mud and water. According to eyewitnesses, the rush of water was so powerful that it sucked people out of their houses, said Giron. “The water devastated everything in its path,” he said.
The floodwater also swept away vehicles, reported the Mexico News Daily.
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