Naucalpan, Mex.— The State of Mexico is on alert, along with the municipalities of the State of Mexico, due to torrential rains that have caused landslides, mudslides and a total of 16 deaths in Jilotzingo and Naucalpan alone, said Horacio Duarte Olivares, Secretary of Government, who along with Governor Delfina Gómez, toured ground zero in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood under heavy rain.
“We are finishing a report which determined that there were six deaths here, in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood, plus the Civil Protection and firefighter from Naucalpan who died in San Francisco Chimalpa,” he added.
In the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood, where a landslide occurred on the evening of September 16, six houses have been assessed as affected, three of them at high risk, and a recommendation is made to evacuate them if the heavy rains continue.
“We are checking the course of this and other rivers for blockages caused by garbage. In addition, for three days Conagua has been draining the dam here in Los Cuartos, so we are ensuring that there is no discharge that brings a higher flow, which would generate more problems,” the secretary explained.
In addition to the nine people who died in San Luis Ayucan, which gives a total of 16 victims only in Jilotzingo and Naucalpan, said Horacio Duarte.
Earlier, in Toluca, Governor Delfina Gómez Álvarez stated that she had given instructions to deploy all the necessary state forces to address the contingency that is occurring in Naucalpan.
He regretted this new emergency during the rainy season, which, he acknowledged, has not given a break in the number of damages to the municipalities of the State of Mexico.
“Chalco and now Naucalpan, which is the closest, have been very complicated. Unfortunately, it is a very poor family. The house was made of sheet metal and that meant that it could not withstand the landslide,” he said.
Gómez Álvarez explained that yesterday, as part of the actions of the Security Committee, they identified other red alert points where more contingencies could occur during the remainder of this rainy season, in municipalities such as Ecatepec, Coacalco, Nezahualcóyotl, Valle de Chalco and Ixtapaluca.
“You see, all the hills are already populated and that in one way or another is already a risk in the event of a landslide, an earthquake, it would be a bit of an emergency,” he said.
The Civil Protection technician from Naucalpan who died on September 17 in a landslide in San Francisco Chimalpa, Naucalpan, was identified as Jorge Arce Dionisio, who for many years worked as a photographer in various media and communication areas.
Jorge Arce died while trying to help the population in a landslide in San Francisco Chimalpa, in Naucalpan, where a series of collapses have been recorded in recent hours, confirmed authorities from this municipality.
A rock fell on the head of the Civil Protection officer, who was allegedly taken alive to the Traumatology Hospital in Lomas Verdes; however, paramedics confirmed his death, according to Naucalpan authorities.
“Where are we going to bury them?” asked tearfully the relatives of the six victims of the landslide in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood, most of them minors, who lost their lives under tons of mud and earth.
Some of the members affected by this tragedy took refuge in a damp, dark room after the landslide destroyed the Bejarano family home.
First it hailed and the accumulation of water loosened the earth where two families lived and were celebrating a birthday on the night of September 16.
The mobilization of neighbors, with the support of firefighters and Civil Protection personnel, allowed the rescue of the bodies of Magdiel, eight years old; Yaretzi, 13; Leilani, 13; Hilary, 15; Kevin, 19, and Alfonso, 58 years old.
Using ropes tied together, neighbors, firefighters and rescuers managed to remove the bodies of the victims one by one, after Luis, the father and husband of a woman who managed to survive, raised the alarm.
In the wooded ravine of the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood, more than 18 meters high, the Bejarano family built their house with a tin roof, tarps and wooden walls on unstable ground that was previously a garbage dump, described neighbors of the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood.
The place did not withstand the storm and the walls and roof of the wooden house did not provide shelter for the family, who were buried in the mud of what was once their home.
Three women were rescued alive from the scene: Juana, Angélica and Gretel, who were transferred to a hospital.
“This family came to live in the ravine a few years ago. The children played next to the Emiliano Zapata school, which one of the girls who died attended,” said a teacher.
The governor of the State of Mexico, Delfina Gómez Álvarez, after touring the area of the accident, reported that the DIF of Naucalpan will take charge of the funeral expenses of the victims.
