Flash flood kills 31 in Mexico

A flash flood swept through a northern Mexican city, killing at least 31 people caught in the path of an overflowing river, forcing hundreds into shelters, and damaging homes and cars.

Emergency crews had recovered 31 bodies in Piedras Negras by early today, said Enrique Martinez, governor of Coahuila state.

Two of those killed were children, and more than half were elderly, according to Alfonso Bres, president of the local Red Cross.

Martinez called the flooding some of the worst in the history of the US-Mexico border region, saying “the magnitude of destruction is enormous”.

Throughout the day, authorities said as many as 75 people had yet to be accounted for, but the governor said many of those originally reported missing had been located.

Martinez said authorities were still hunting for more than a dozen people, but that he couldn’t confirm the exact number of missing.

Floodwaters had receded and rain eventually stopped, allowing President Vicente Fox to visit this border city of 200,000, 150 miles south west of San Antonio, Texas.

Struggling to be heard over cheers, the president addressed several hundred people at the municipal gym, which authorities had turned into a makeshift shelter.

“We will help each and every one of you recover your homes, furniture, belongings, and everything else you’ve lost,” Fox said.

The floods left behind houses without roofs, toppled walls and fences, and fallen power poles.

“We lost everything, but thank God we’re alive,” said Oscar Tapia, 67, who carried a bucket of clothing salvaged from his house on the banks of the Escondido River, which overflowed as the result of the intense rains.

Heavy rains began on Sunday, forcing water levels to rise by 25 feet in the Escondido, which flows into the Rio Grande.

The downpours intensified around midnight, causing the river to overflow.

Fox declared a state of emergency in the area, releasing government funds to help the city clean up and deploying soldiers to the area.

The US Border Patrol sent two helicopters to help rescue officials locate survivors stranded on rooftops and clinging to tree branches.

Mexican government-owned helicopters arrived later from the Coahuila state capital of Saltillo.