Landslide triggered by tropical rain kills 40 in Mexico

At least 40 people have been killed in eastern Mexico after their homes were buried under tons of mud and rocks after heavy rains, brought to the county by Tropical Storm Earl.

As many as 30 people died after saturated hillsides collapsed onto their homes in the town of Huauchinango in central Puebla state. Officials said a whole hill collapsed near the town and swept down on a nearby village.

Heavy rain also set off mudslides in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz and killed 10 people.

Officials were forced to close main federal highway that is connecting Mexico City to the affected region, as heavy rain continued and mud kept on sliding.

According to Federal transportation authorities, the region had received a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.

The damage caused by the heavy rain affected at least 200 people in the town of Huauchinango, said mayor Gabriel Alvarado, describing the incident as “a tragedy.” Forecasters said the intense rains will continue in the region.

Tropical Storm Earl swept through Belize in central American on Thursday after it caused destruction in the Caribbean. As it passed over the Caribbean, it left at least nine people dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Although it downgraded to a tropical depression when reached to Mexico, it left a path of destruction there.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center forecast the center of the tropical cyclone to approach the southern portion of the Baja California peninsula on Monday.

It warned that the remnants of the hurricane were expected to produce an additional 2 to 4 inches of rainfall in eastern Mexico.

“These rains could result in life-threatening flash floods and mudslides,” the center warned.