POZA RICA, Mexico (AP) — The death toll from last week's heavy rains in east-central Mexico rose to 64 on Monday as search operations expanded into communities cut off by landslides and residents in low-lying areas cleared flooded ground floors.
Another 65 people were missing after heavy rains in central and southeastern Mexico caused rivers to overflow, civil defense coordinator Laura Velazquez Alzua said Monday during President Claudia Sheinbaum's daily press briefing.
The scale of the destruction in five states became clearer a day after Sheinbaum visited affected communities in Puebla and Veracruz, vowing to quickly expand the government's response.
Mexico's Civil Protection Agency said heavy rains had killed 29 people in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz and 21 in Hidalgo state, north of Mexico City, as of Monday morning. At least 13 people were killed in Puebla, east of Mexico City. Earlier, in the central state of Queretaro, a child died after being caught in a landslide.
According to the federal government, some 21 inches (54 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of the state of Veracruz last week from Monday October 6 to Thursday.
