Riviera Maya, Q.R. — City of Cancun personnel were out Friday night unplugging waterlogged roads due to heavy rain. Over the past three days, more than 170 mm of rain has fallen, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported.
Cancun City Hall (Ayuntamiento de Benito Juárez) reported that Friday night, the Cancun Fire Department and Cancun Civil Protection were at various points throughout the city to safeguard the public.
Following instructions from Governor Mara Lezama and Mayor Ana Paty Peralta, emergency personnel were out assisting those in need. City personnel were also out dredging and cleaning storm drains around the city to decrease flooding.
According to Cancun City Hall, Bonampak Avenue, Yaxchilán Avenue and Tulum Avenues, several of the city’s main avenues, were some affected by the heavy rain. In response, 45 Cancun Transit officers were deployed to conduct preventive patrols on the city’s main avenues.
Other city avenues affected by the rain included Luis Donaldo Colosio, Kukulcán, Kabah, Coba, Bonampak, López Portillo, Andrés Quintana Roo, Huayacán and Nader.
In Playa del Carmen, numerous residential neighborhoods and main roadways also experienced flooding. Ahead of the bad weather, Mayor Estefanía Mercado began Operation Storm through Civil Protection, Risk Prevention and Firefighters and Municipal Public Services departments.
She reported deploying civil personnel to neighborhoods for dredging at various points where water accumulation, puddles and flooding were reported. The Secretary of Civil Protection, Risk Prevention, and Firefighters, Darwin Covarrubias, emphasized that ongoing efforts are being made to keep the storm drains, manholes and gutters clean.
“Following the instructions of Mayor Estefanía Mercado, we are maintaining the Storm Operation as a preventive and ongoing operation. Our goal is to immediately respond to citizen reports and reduce risks during this rainy and hurricane season,” he stated.
The large weather system also dumped heavy rainfall on Tulum where numerous streets were left waterlogged. Municipal Tulum city workers were out Friday night clearing clogged drains to aid in water removal.
According to the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) “above-normal rainfall has occurred in regions of northern, western, and central Mexico, as well as in parts of Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula.”
They said “in the last three days, 173.7 mm rainfall was recorded in Cancun,” one of the hardest hit areas in the state. Early Saturday afternoon, Protección Civil Cancún issued a rain warning, again for the city of Cancun.
“Over the next few hours, increased cloudiness is expected which could generate showers with occasional rainfall accompanied by electrical activity mainly over the municipality of Benito Juárez.
“These rains may cause reduced visibility on road sections, flooding and flooding in low-lying areas, as well as gusts of wind that could cause trees or billboards to fall. Stay informed through official channels and take precautions to keep yourself and your family safe.”
The SMN reported that for Saturday, “heavy rainfall of between 25 to 50 mm is likely Quintana Roo.”
