Source: Reuters - Sun, 22 Sep 2013 11:50 PM
Author: Reuters
By David Alire Garcia MEXICO CITY, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Mexico's Congress will revise its proposed 2014 budget in the wake of some of the worst storm damage in decades, President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Sunday as the death toll from widespread flooding and mudslides rose to about 115. The government earlier this month said it aimed to run a budget deficit this year and next as it forges ahead with spending on infrastructure. It must now find additional funds to repair roads and infrastructure hammered by the storms. Pena Nieto said Mexico's Congress "will absolutely have to adjust" the federal budget in light of the mounting destruction caused by Tropical Storm Ingrid and Hurricane Manuel over the past week. "Today we can already anticipate that due to the damages that we've seen, our (emergency) funds are insufficient," said Pena Nieto in a speech in the northwestern state of Sinaloa. He did not specify new funding levels beyond the roughly 12 billion Mexican pesos ($938.97 million) available in emergency funding. Pena Nieto also noted that the death toll from the storms stands at "110 or 115." Mexico's president called for a quick state-by-state evaluation of damage to be overseen by the country's interior minister that "will allow us to add resources beyond those already budgeted for contingency and disaster funds to rebuild infrastructure that has sadly been lost." "We are confronting rainfall that has practically been the most extensive in the history of the entire national territory," he added. Mexico's government aims to widen the budget deficit next year to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, the finance ministry said earlier this month. The ministry also asked Congress to approve a deficit of 0.4 percent of GDP for 2013 after an economic slowdown this year hurt government revenue. At least two more people died when a Black Hawk rescue helicopter crashed on a hillside near the stricken village of La Pintada in southern Guerrero state, the government said late on Saturday night. Only the deaths of two pilots and a mechanic were confirmed from the accident previously, and the additional two victims were listed as rescue workers. Meanwhile, nearly 70 people remained missing after a mudslide caused by torrential rains buried 40 homes in La Pintada. Pena Nieto said on Saturday that there was little hope anyone had survived the mudslide in the village. Guerrero state, home to the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, has been the hardest hit by heavy rains unleashed by Hurricane Manuel last week. Over the weekend, tens of thousands of tourists made their way out of the heavily flooded beach city, either by special airlift planes or via the city's main highway, which reopened on Friday. The city's international airport reopened to commercial flights on Sunday morning. But more than 22,000 homes were listed as damaged in Guerrero and as many as 20,000 people remained in shelters, according to Angel Aguirre, the state's governor. Mudslides and flooding have buried homes and wrecked highways and bridges in all but two of the country's 31 states, according to government officials. Source: trust.org Massive Mexico storm, flooding: At least 42 dead, 40,000 stranded
Published time: September 17, 2013 04:42
 Residents
attempt to flee from the flooded area in Acapulco, Guerrero state,
Mexico, after heavy rains hit the area on September 16, 2013. (AFP
Photo/Pedro Pardo)
Two devastating storms converged over the Pacific Ccean to ravage Mexico, killing at least 42 people and stranding approximately 40,000 tourists in resorts in Acapulco in some of the worst flooding in decades.
What is left of Tropical Storm Manuel battered the Pacific coast
as Tropical Depression Ingrid forced the closure of Mexican oil
operations. Both storms weakened but not before at least 42 died
in the states of Veracruz, Guerrero, Puebla, Hidalgo, Michoachan,
and Oaxaca, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Among the most severely damaged was the Pacific resort of
Acapulco, where the downpours quickly led to massive landslides
that swept through buildings and roads. At Least 21 were killed
in that region alone, Constantino Gonzalez, a Guerrero state
emergency official told Reuters.
 View
of the flooded area in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico, after heavy
rains hit the area on September 16, 2013. (AFP Photo/Pedro Pardo)“Unfortunately, the majority of the deaths have occurred here in Acapulco due to landslides that completely buried homes,” said Gonzalez. Many residents made their way through the stricken areas on jet skis, pedal boats, or improvised flotation devices, while others waded in up to neck deep water.
 Two
men wait for help in a flooded street in Acapulco, Guerrero state,
Mexico, after heavy rains hit the area on September 16, 2013. (AFP
Photo/Pedro Pardo)Some of the city’s popular hotels experienced flooding, with tens of thousands of tourists the victim of cancelled flights and submerged golf courses.
“Tomorrow is another day, and we will just have to check
whether or not the highway re-opens,” Martila Flores, a hotel
worker, told Reuters via telephone.
 View of the flooded area in Puerto Marques in Acapulco, Guerrero state,
Mexico, after heavy rains hit the area on September 16, 2013. (AFP
Photo/Pedro Pardo)Approximately 23,000 people across the state of Veracruz, located on Mexico’s Gulf coast, had to be evacuated from their homes, with nearly 10,000 taking refuge in emergency shelters. Twelve people were killed in the state when a landslide engulfed a bus and at least two homes. “These storms have affected two-thirds of the entire national territory,” said Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong, calling the flooding “historic.”
 Residents
attempt to leave the flooded area in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico,
after heavy rains hit the area on September 16, 2013. (AFP Photo/Pedro
Pardo)
Pemex, the state oil monopoly, was forced to evacuate three oil
platforms and stop drilling on platforms elsewhere in the region.
The company announced on its Twitter page that it activated
“emergency procedures” at the Francisco Madero refinery on
the Gulf coast. That refinery alone is capable of processing
180,000 barrels of crude oil each day.
 Mexican
soldiers and police look for victims of a landslide caused by heavy
rains in Xaltepec community, State of Veracruz, Mexico on September 16,
2013. (AFP Photo)
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto visited Acapulco and
elsewhere in the Guerrero state Monday and, while the government
has discontinued all inclement weather advisories, said “We
have to plan to arrange for government funds to help.”
 Mexican
soldiers and police look for victims of a landslide caused by heavy
rains in Xaltepec community, State of Veracruz, Mexico on September 16,
2013. (AFP Photo)
 Mexican
Navy members secure a flooded area to prevent theft and robbery in
Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico, after heavy rains hit the area on
September 16, 2013. (AFP Photo)
 Tourists
wade through a flooded street in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico,
after heavy rains hit the area on September 16, 2013 (AFP Photo)related articles:
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