More Than 1,000 People Displaced by Heavy Northern Mexico Rains Agence France-Presse
go to original July 22, 2013

Dramatic helicopter rescue is caught on tape of flood victims in Chihuahua, Mexico, where flooding forces airport to close. Rough Cut (Reuters/corolinestone)

CIUDAD JUAREZ - More than 1,000 people were evacuated from the city of Jimenez in northern Mexico after the heaviest rainfall in 25 years, officials said late Sunday.

Downpours around the city, located some 400 kilometres (240 miles) south of the border with Texas, have resulted in dangerously swollen rivers, Chihuahua state governor Cesar Duarte told local media.

Duarte ordered the evacuation of areas most affected by the monsoon intensity rains that caused flash floods and left some residents stranded.

Heavy rainfall in recent days has affected large swaths of the state and on Friday forced the shutdown of the international airport in Chihuahua, the state capital.

Five airlines were forced to cancel flights, affecting some 1,200 passengers.

In the municipality of Rosales, in Chihuahua state, water rushing out of a burst dam destroyed a bridge and damaged 140 homes.

Separately, 49 prisoners at the local Camargo jail were moved to a prison in Chihuahua city because of damage to its adobe walls and roof from the rain, officials said.

See the original at Channel NewsAsia

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