Seventy-six people are dead. Thirty-one are still missing. And over 70,000 homes lie ruined — not from war, not from earthquake, but from rain. Between October 7 and 11, 2025, southern Mexico was drowned. What started as tropical storms off the Pacific coast — remnants of Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Storm Raymond — became a relentless deluge that turned rivers into torrents and mountains into slides. By October 21, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) confirmed the grim tally: 76 dead, 31 missing, and at least 70,445 homes damaged across five states. The worst? It’s not over. More rain is expected within 48 hours.
When the Sky Broke Open
In Veracruz, rainfall hit 24 inches in just four days — more than most residents had ever seen in a year. Governor Rocío Nahle said over 300,000 people were directly affected. In the town of Álamo, floodwaters surged two meters deep into a health center, washing out every ventilator, every medicine cabinet, every X-ray machine. Local health director Martí Batres described medics treating patients under tarps, rain dripping onto bandages. "We’re doing what we can," he said. "But we’re running out of everything." Meanwhile, in Hidalgo, 74 communities were cut off — some by landslides, others by collapsed bridges. One village, El Cedral, had its only road washed away. Residents told reporters they walked six hours to the nearest town just to send a text. "We think it’s about six or seven hours walking," said local Neptalí Rodríguez. "But we want people to know that we’re working… that they can also care about their situation." In Puebla, 18 people died, 16,000 homes were damaged, and a gas pipeline ruptured after a landslide buried a rural highway. The Mexican Navy evacuated nearly 900 people to shelters. In San Luis Potosí, four bodies of water overflowed, flooding 2,200 homes — 25 of them completely collapsed.The Response: Soldiers, Helicopters, and Silence
The Mexican military — army, navy, and air force — mobilized immediately. Over 10,000 personnel were deployed. Helicopters flew supplies into zones where roads were gone. Private construction firms, some with heavy machinery, volunteered to clear debris from federal highways. But in places like the Sierra Norte of Hidalgo, the terrain is so steep, so unstable, that even drones struggle to map the damage. International aid arrived fast. UNICEF shipped water purification units. Save the Children set up child protection tents in evacuation centers. Médecins du Monde Suisse brought mobile clinics. All funded by the European Union, under a pre-existing humanitarian agreement. Yet, for all the resources, many families say help came too late. Ramírez, a mother in Veracruz, watched her grandmother shiver on a hillside as floodwaters rose below. "We have to get them out," she said. "They’re in constant danger there."Why This Was So Deadly
This wasn’t just bad weather. It was bad planning. Mexico’s infrastructure has been crumbling for years. Drainage systems in Veracruz were designed for 15 inches of rain — not 24. Many homes in rural areas were built on slopes, without proper foundations. In Puebla, the ruptured gas line wasn’t just an accident — it was the result of a pipeline laid decades ago, never upgraded, now buried under decades of erosion. The Copernicus Emergency Management Service activated EMSR845, producing nine satellite maps between October 13 and 21. Those maps showed what ground teams couldn’t see: entire neighborhoods buried under mud, rivers rerouted overnight, and 112 communities still unreachable as of October 21. "We’ve seen this before," said Dr. Luisa Mendoza, a climate resilience expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. "But never this fast, never this widespread. Climate change isn’t a future threat here — it’s the new normal. The storms are stronger. The ground is weaker. And the people who suffer most? They’re the ones who never had a choice to live anywhere else."What’s Next — And What’s at Stake
President Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged "no expense will be spared." But money doesn’t fix roads overnight. And with more rain forecasted for southern Mexico, recovery efforts are racing against the next storm. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warns that atmospheric conditions remain favorable for heavy precipitation through October 25. The cost? Preliminary estimates exceed $2.3 billion in infrastructure damage alone. The human cost? Unquantifiable. Entire families vanished. Schools closed. Crops drowned. Livelihoods erased. As aid convoys inch forward, one question lingers: Will this disaster be a wake-up call — or just another entry in Mexico’s long list of climate tragedies?Frequently Asked Questions
How many people were affected in Veracruz, and why was it the worst-hit state?
Over 300,000 people were affected in Veracruz alone, according to Governor Rocío Nahle. The state received over 24 inches of rain in four days — the highest recorded since 1998. Its geography, with steep coastal mountains and poorly maintained drainage, turned rivers into destructive walls of water. Thirty deaths occurred here, and nearly 30,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
Why are 112 communities still inaccessible?
Landslides buried roads, bridges collapsed under saturated soil, and remote mountainous terrain makes ground access impossible without heavy machinery. In Hidalgo, 74 of these inaccessible towns are in the Sierra Gorda region, where roads are narrow, unpaved, and often carved into cliffs. Helicopters are the only option, but fuel and weather delays limit daily flights.
What role did international agencies play in the response?
The European Union funded pre-existing humanitarian projects that allowed UNICEF, Save the Children, and Médecins du Monde Suisse to deploy within 72 hours. They provided clean water, medical supplies, and child protection services. Without this pre-arranged funding, the response would have been delayed by weeks.
Is the death toll expected to rise further?
Yes. With 31 people officially missing and 112 communities still unreachable, rescue teams fear many bodies remain buried under mudslides. In rural areas, families often don’t report missing relatives until days later. The UNOCHA warns that the final death toll could exceed 100 once all areas are surveyed.
What’s being done to prevent this from happening again?
President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a $400 million emergency infrastructure plan targeting drainage upgrades and slope stabilization in high-risk zones. But experts say long-term solutions require relocating vulnerable communities — something the government has avoided due to political and cultural resistance. Without that, experts warn, similar disasters will return every 2–3 years.
How does this compare to past floods in Mexico?
The 2025 floods surpass the 2020 Hurricane Hanna disaster, which killed 48 and damaged 32,000 homes. This event is now Mexico’s deadliest flood since 2005’s Hurricane Stan, which claimed over 1,500 lives. What’s different this time? The scale of simultaneous damage across three states, the speed of rainfall accumulation, and the number of infrastructure failures — including power grids and gas lines — make this unprecedented in modern Mexican history.
