Tropical Storm Karl hit Mexico

At least one person has died in Mexico after heavy rainfall brought by the remnants of Tropical Storm Karl.

Tropical Storm Karl weakened into a tropical depression late 14 October 2022 as it moved towards Tabasco state in the Gulf of Mexico and into the neighbouring state of Chiapas.

Track of Tropical Storm Karl in Mexico, October 2022. Image: NOAA
The heaviest of the rain fell in Tabasco and Chiapas states. According to provisional figures from Mexico’s meteorological agency Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) Río de Janeiro in the municipality of Pichucalco in Chiapas recorded 342.4 mm of rain in 24 hours to 15 October. Camoapa in Tabasco recorded 387.9 mm of rain during the same period. Areas of Oaxaca (Cosolapa 84.7 mm) and Veracruz (Chicomapa 77.1 m) also saw some heavy rain during this period.

Civil Protection officials in Chiapas state reported the overflow of the Pichucalco River in areas of Pichucalco town and municipality. More than a thousand people attending a religious event were forced to evacuate. A young boy was rescued after being swept away by the floods.

Civil Protection said that the “El Cristo” stream broke its banks, flooding five neighbourhoods in the city with water as deep as 3 metres in some places. Around 120 people from 40 families were evacuated to two emergency shelters. Emergency teams rescued one person who was trapped in a flooded building. The victim was rescued alive and taken to a hospital with serious health conditions and later died, Civil Protection said.

Elsewhere in the state, fast flowing water along the El Platanar River destroyed bridges in the Municipality of Ostuacan. Around 35 families were evacuated from their homes in Ostuacan after the overflow of the Magdalena River. Preventive evacuations were carried out in Ixtacomitán after streams overflowed.

Heavy rain triggered several landslides, including one in Tapalapa where roads were closed. Rough seas also caused problems and Civil Protection reported one person had to be rescued in Puerto Arista.