Miguel Dominguez/Agencia Reforma
Saturday, April 29, 2023 | 2:01 p.m.
Matamoros.- An intense storm with strong winds caused blackouts and damage mainly in Matamoros and Río Bravo, where commercial and rural areas were affected, while in Reynosa it caused water cuts due to lack of electricity.
On the southern border of Texas, mainly in McAllen and Harlingen, the storm also caused damage, and power and water supply outages were reported.
In Matamoros, the speed of the wind caused trees, billboards and poles to fall, and knocked down the windows of self-service stores.
A car even caught fire after a pole with a CFE transformer fell on top of it.
In addition, the road was affected in several avenues and neighborhoods of the city due to the obstruction of poles, advertisements and trees that fell.
Mario López Hernández, Mayor of Matamoros, declared the dependencies in a State of Emergency and ordered a massive mobilization of the relief forces, Civil Protection and Firefighters, Transit personnel, Public Cleaning, crews of the Water and Drainage Board, Public Works and Urban Development staff.
The strong downpour also wreaked havoc in the rural area of Matamoros and even more so in the neighboring Municipality of Río Bravo, where it bent sorghum and corn crops, destroyed crop storage warehouses, and flooded plots.
In Matamoros, Pedro Astudillo from Civil Protection; Jorge Orizaga of Public Security; Ulises García from Public Spaces; Samuel Valdez from Urban Development; Marco Antonio Hernández Acosta from the JAD, and officials from other agencies, coordinated for the emerging tasks.
Help is also provided to remote colonies.
State and National Guard, as well as other security units, travel through the city to maintain order and prevent acts of robbery in the face of damage to shopping centers.
The intense downpour was recorded around 1:20 in the morning and lasted approximately 20 minutes to a half hour.
On the north ascent of the Bridge, the air knocked over a panoramic signage that interrupted traffic.
Civil Protection personnel with Firefighters came with chainsaws to cut the iron structure and remove it.
