At least 58 people are
unaccounted for in the municipality of Atoyac de Alvarez, Mexican
Pesident Enrique Peña Nieto told reporters Wednesday, describing damage
there as "catastrophic."
The mayor of Atoyac, which is about 50 miles west of Acapulco, told CNNMexico that 15 bodies had been recovered and at least 70 people remained trapped under mud that buried 20 homes.
Peña Nieto said hundreds
of people have been rescued from La Pintada, the community in Atoyac hit
by the mudslide. It's unclear how many people remain buried, he said.
Manuel, which
strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday evening, was one of three storms
bringing devastating deluges and flooding to Mexico. At least 80 people
were killed in the storms, Mexico's interior ministry said.
Veronica Garcia told CNN en Español that family
was stuck on the home's second floor because of flooding. As if that
wasn't enough, they had to face an agonizing decision: Who should be
rescued?
The Garcias were among
some 40,000 tourists left stranded or cut off by weather that has
claimed dozens of lives during a holiday weekend.
As the water rose,
Garcia and her four family members waited nervously on the upper floor
for help, but no rescuers appeared to whisk them to safety.
When local volunteers
finally arrived with a small kayak, their relief was short-lived.
Rescuers said the boat would only fit two family members.
It was decided that Garcia would be rescued, along with one of her sons.
A second round of agony
followed as Garcia spent two days in a shelter before the rest of her
family was rescued and everyone was reunited.
The Garcias' story was
only one of countless examples of tourists whose vacations were
interrupted by severe weather. Mexico was being pummeled from nearly all
sides Wednesday as Manuel, the remnants of Hurricane Ingrid and a new
area of low pressure threatened most of the country with flooding or
rain.
Mexico's interior ministry said Wednesday that the storms are responsible for at least 80 deaths nationwide.
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