Storm Agatha Kills 3 People, 5 Disappeared In South Mexico

On Tuesday, Mexican Oaxaca state's civil protection agency spokesperson Axel Martinez confirmed that at least three people died and five others disappeared after tropical storm Agatha battered southern Mexico.

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"Citizens Aldis Lopez and Mario Cruz got killed after being trapped between rocks and mud in the Santa Catarina Xanaguia community, and a non-identified woman died in a landslide in the San Mateo Pinas town," Martinez detailed.

On Monday afternoon, storm Agatha became a category two hurricane and touched down at 169 km-per-hour near Puerto Angel town on the Pacific coast. However, on Tuesday morning, it weakened to a 45 km-per-hour wind tropical depression as it moved inland.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects that storm Agatha to dissipate by Tuesday afternoon. Nevertheless, it warned that life-threatening flash floods and mudslides can still occur.

"Waves of between one and three meters can hit the coasts of Oaxaca and Chiapas states in the coming hours," Mexico's National Water Commission (CONAGUA) alerted, stressing that some towns are likely to lose electrical power.

Agatha, the first one to appear in this cyclone season in the Pacific ocean, has dropped about 25 cm of rain on Oaxaca state and caused heavy downpours in the Chiapas, Veracruz, Tabasco, and Guerrero states.

In the last 24 hours, this storm's heavy rains caused mud and rocks to slide into two highways in Oaxaca and blocked access to at least one area of this state. Telephone lines were also knocked out, forcing authorities to communicate by radio.

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