Hurricane Agatha Causes Damage to Oaxaca

At least 11 people died and 20 more were missing after Hurricane Agatha hit the Mexican state of Oaxaca, officials said on May 31.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Agatha made landfall on May 30 west of Puerto Angel in Oaxaca with maximum sustained winds near 105 mph (165 km/h).

Oaxaca Gov Alejandro Murat told local media rivers overflowed their banks and people were swept away or buried by landslides. He said there were reports of three children missing near the resort of Huatulco, among at least 20 others missing.

It was the strongest May hurricane on record to make landfall on the Pacific coast of Mexico since record keeping began in 1949, according to the NHC.

Twitter user @El_Reno88 said this footage was taken in Mazunte, a beach town in Oaxaca, during the hurricane on May 30. Additional images show destruction as Mazunte residents assessed the hurricane’s damage on May 31, he said.

Remnants of Agatha were expected to bring heavy rainfall to parts of southeastern Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, and Belize, before spreading across western Cuba, South Florida, and the Florida Keys later this week, the NHC said. Credit: @El_Reno88 via Storyful