The Guadalajara Reporter

Hurricane wreaks havoc across southern Mexico

At least 12 people were killed and thousands left homeless when Hurricane Ernesto ravaged southern Mexico last week.

Moving inland from the Yucatan Peninsula, the hurricane claimed five lives in the state of Veracruz, five in Guerrero and two in Tabasco.

Local governments declared states of disaster in 31 municipalities in Veracruz, five in Guerrero and three in Tabasco, triggering the immediate release of emergency funds for food, clothing and healthcare from the Natural Disaster Fund (FONDEN).

In Veracruz alone, 212 municipalities suffered torrential rain, 10,000 homes were damaged and at least 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes.

In total, over 400,000 homes were left temporarily without power in Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz and Yucatan, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) said.

Ernesto first made landfall last Tuesday night near the Quintana Roo fishing town of Mahahual as a Category One hurricane with winds of up to 165 kilometers per hour (kph).

The hurricane crossed the Yucatan Peninsula the following day without causing casualties or serious damage before moving back over the Gulf of Mexico. It made landfall again at Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, early Thursday afternoon, bringing winds of 96 kph.

Downgraded to a tropical storm and then a tropical depression as it moved west across Mexico, Ernesto brought moderate to heavy rainfall to Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Mexico State, Hidalgo, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit late last week.