Deadly floodwaters tore through parts of Baja California, Mexico, as the remnants of post-tropical cyclone Rachel soaked the region, killing at least four people around Ensenada and leaving six others missing, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
Baja California Civil Protection Coordinator Ignacio Lozoya said four bodies had been recovered in Ensenada by Monday evening: a 13-year-old girl found Sunday, and two women and a four-year-old boy found Monday. Six people remained missing — four in Ensenada and two from San Felipe, a father and son who went fishing on Saturday. Floodwaters swept away vehicles and damaged homes, and landslides and overflowing rivers cut off several other communities.
The rescue effort was dramatic: Mexican military helicopters airlifted 32 people from a ranch in Ensenada, 22 of them foreigners. State security chief Gen. Laureano Carrillo said some of those rescued were missionaries, including Germans and Americans, and Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila said 13 of them were youths. About 14,000 federal and state personnel were deployed across Baja California, according to the governor.
Farther south, the same storm pattern brought Hurricane Simon's rains to Guerrero, where Governor Evelyn Salgado reported downed trees and power poles, blocked roads and flooded homes, including in Acapulco — the latest blow in a brutal storm season for Mexico's Pacific coast.
