Vance remnants sweep cars into sea in Los Cabos, kill two in Sonora

Torrential rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Vance flooded northwestern Mexico on Friday, carrying cars into the Pacific surf in Los Cabos and killing two men in Guaymas, Sonora.

Torrential rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Vance flooded parts of northwestern Mexico on Friday, sending cars tumbling down a swollen arroyo into the Pacific surf in Los Cabos and killing two men in the Sonora port city of Guaymas, Mexican authorities said.

Video from the Costa Azul area of San José del Cabo, in Baja California Sur, shows brown floodwater pouring across the beach beside a seafront hotel and carrying several white vehicles into the waves. Residents told El Universal that employees of nearby hotels often park near the arroyo bed, and that some of the cars swept away may have been theirs.

Rescues and a clinic evacuation in Los Cabos

Mexico's National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC) said 41 people were rescued from high-risk areas in Baja California Sur and 18 vehicles caught by the currents were removed. Authorities reported only material damage in the state. In San José del Cabo, Family Medicine Unit No. 6 of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) was evacuated as a precaution after water entered the building, with 356 patients and staff moved out, La Jornada reported. Classes were suspended across the municipality.

Local outlets reported more than 100 millimeters (about 4 inches) of rain within a few hours over San José del Cabo. Los Cabos Civil Protection launched a "Cruce Seguro" (Safe Crossing) operation to keep drivers and pedestrians away from flooded arroyo crossings and, citing the National Meteorological Service's forecast for more rain, urged residents not to cross arroyos even when the water appears to recede.

Two dead after car swept under a bridge in Guaymas

Across the Gulf of California, about 120 millimeters of rain fell on Guaymas in roughly 45 minutes, according to the municipal government, three times the 40 millimeters it had expected over 12 hours. "The death of two people in the municipality of Guaymas has been confirmed, caused by a vehicle being swept away by the force of the current," Mexico's Security and Citizen Protection Ministry said. Local media reported that the car was carried down an arroyo in the Misión del Sol neighborhood and became trapped beneath a bridge.

A bus lies in a flooded arroyo in Guaymas, Sonora, after torrential rain on Oct. 30 (Excélsior)

The CNPC counted 249 homes with water inside in Guaymas, 16 severely flooded roads, two overflowing arroyos and 10 vehicles stranded or dragged by the current, along with damage to power infrastructure. Two temporary shelters opened in Guaymas and neighboring Empalme, initially housing 10 people.

Army and Navy deployed

Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo announced an interagency operation in Guaymas and Empalme. The Defense Ministry activated its DN-III-E disaster plan, sending troops to remove stranded vehicles and clear mud and debris from homes and streets, and kept an Air Force helicopter on standby as an air ambulance. The Army has since wrapped up the plan in Guaymas.

The Navy said Saturday that its Plan Marina had moved to the recovery phase in both areas, with 2,029 personnel on hand in Guaymas and 193 in Los Cabos, backed by ships, drones and heavy machinery, plus a water purification plant in Los Cabos.

Photos: Daniel Sánchez Dórame / Excélsior

Vance remnants sweep cars into sea in Los Cabos, kill two in Sonora

Torrential rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Vance flooded northwestern Mexico on Friday, carrying cars into the Pacific surf in Los Cabos and killing two men in Guaymas, Sonora.