Search and rescue missions happening for Mexican villages hit by mudslides

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Search and rescue missions underway for Mexican villages hit by mudslides

The Mexican military continued conducting search and rescue missions to find any survivors from the devastation caused by Hurricane Earl last weekend.

CCTV America’s Martin Markovits reports. Follow Martin Markovits on Twitter @MartinMarkovits

The storm came at an intensity that nobody could have ever imagined. The small streams suddenly became rivers and soon houses started collapsing. But it was too late for Veronica Garrido to save her children living in the state of Puebla. After the storm, they were able to find the body of her 10 year old son. But her 1 year old baby is still missing.

“My two kids are now dead. One we have found but the little one we still can’t find. That is why I am asking for more help. They need to continue the search and with more people,” Garrido said.

Over the weekend, Hurricane Earl triggered landslides that killed at least 45 people in the Mexican states of Puebla and Veracruz. The devastation caused by the storm is enormous.

The hardest hit was the poor rural town of Huauchinango located in Puebla state. On Monday, town municipal president Gabriel Alvarado Lorenzo said at least 200 buildings were destroyed and 1,400 people are now seeking refuge in government run shelters.

Behind the mudslides buried and destroyed the homes in this tiny village. Three days after this tragedy, rescue teams are still looking for people reported missing, although most have given up hope to find anyone alive.

On Tuesday, Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto came to Huauchinango and offered federal aid to the victims and the community.

Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto said the Mexican federal government along with state and municipal governments will face the devastation caused by heavy rains this weekend and other in the coming days; they will monitor them very closely.

Mexico did get some positive news. Tropical Storm Javier which government officials feared would bring devastation to Mexico’s pacific coast weakened to a tropical depression on Tuesday.