Authorities have received reports of fallen trees, road flooding and some mudslides…
VERACRUZ — The National Civil Protection Coordination Office of the Interior Ministry (Segob) reported that so far there haven’t been reported human lives lost in the states of Puebla and Veracruz, following the passage of the now tropical storm “Franklin”.
Luis Felipe Puente, head of the Coordination, confirmed to REFORMA newspaper that there is only a report of fallen trees, intermittent faults to the electric power service and road cuts in both entities.
The official said that “Franklin” also caused flooding of rivers and some landslides without major damage, damages in two schools, as well as the collapse of roofs in some vulnerable homes.
In Puebla there are 1,562 people housed in 24 shelters, he added.
The Federal Police informed on Twitter that the Cocoatzintla-Naolinco road is closed in Acatlán, Veracruz, due to falling trees and an increase in the El Aguacate river level.
In Puebla, they perform cleaning maneuvers from 61 to 63 kilometers of the San Hipólito-Xalapa road.
In addition, the highway Puebla-Córdoba, in Puebla, is partially closed by flooding.
Separately, the Governor of Puebla, José Antonio Gali, also noted that there were no casualties in the entity.
“There were torrential rains, it’s still raining in Teziutlan, fortunately no casualties, fully coordinated areas,” he reported through a video uploaded to the internet.
“Fortunately we only have fallen trees, we have cuts to the electricity system but 80 percent has already been repaired, it’s 20 percent.”
Gali warned that it is still raining very strongly in the whole area of the North-eastern Sierra, especially in Teziutlán, so he called on residents not to lower their guard.
“Fortunately we do not have to regret thanks to this coordination, no loss of human life,” he added.
The National Hurricane Center says the storm reached the coastline about 80 miles (128.74 kilometers) southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico, early Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (136.79 kph).
Franklin strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season on Wednesday.
Authorities in Veracruz ordered classes cancelled at public schools Thursday as a precautionary measure.
As a tropical storm, Franklin made a relatively mild run across the Yucatan Peninsula earlier in the week. Mexico Civil Defense director Ricardo de la Cruz said Tuesday that the storm’s impact on Yucatan was not as bad as initially feared, with some trees down and power out in some areas.
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