35,000 homes damaged or destroyed. Thousands of cars, trucks and buses are lined up, waiting to get out of flood- and shortage-stricken Acapulco.
The twin weekend storms that struck Mexico, creating floods and landslides across the nation, had killed at least 97 people as of Thursday.
That figure doesn’t include the missing in La Pintada, where several entire families were wiped out when a landslide plowed almost directly through the center of the village.
Government photos show major mudslides and collapsed bridges and tunnels on key highways, including the Highway of the Sun, a major four-lane expressway that links Acapulco to Mexico City.
However, according to the country’s Transportation Department, a patchwork connection of roads leading to Mexico City was partially reopened around midday Friday. Yet traffic was allowed through only in small groups escorted by federal police, and in only one direction: outward bound from Acapulco.
See video of daring rescue:
http://www.s.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/manuel-news-updates-20130919
http://www.wvnstv.com/story/23481738/grief-strikes-tiny-mexican-village-after-landslide
Thanks to Wanda and Caroline Snyder for these links