Authorities in Mexico said Monday that at least eight people were killed and two were missing after heavy rain converted a mountain stream into a torrent of muddy floodwater that swept away locales.
Some victims’ bodies were discovered several miles downstream from where they vanished near Autlan in the western state of Jalisco.
In a statement, the Jalisco Civil Protection Service stated, “Eight people are reported dead so far and search efforts continue to locate two more people”.
A local civil protection official, Juan Ignacio Arroyo Verastegui, told the media that deforestation and a fire earlier this year did significant damage to the wooded region and may have contributed to the sudden flooding.
Authorities claimed dozens of rescue workers were sent to the area to look for the missing.
Flooding and tropical storms strike Mexico on a regular basis.
Climate change, according to scientists, is increasing the probability of heavy rain because warmer air contains more moisture.
