At least four dead after tropical storm Alberto in Mexico

Alberto, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall on Mexico’s northeast coast early Thursday morning as a tropical storm, bringing heavy rains, flooding and gusty winds, meteorologists reported. At least four people died in events related to the storm, which later weakened to a low pressure system, officials and meteorologists said.

The fatalities all occurred in Nuevo León. A man there was electrocuted while trying to repair his house, Governor Samuel García said in a television interview on Thursday.

A teenager was trapped by the current in a river and drowned while trying to retrieve a ball, Erik Cavazos, the head of civil protection in Nuevo León, told reporters earlier. Two children were electrocuted when they crossed a pond that had come into contact with a live cable, he said.

The newspaper El Universal reported, citing local emergency authorities, that the drowned teenager was 16 and the other two were 12 years old.

By Thursday afternoon, Alberto was no longer considered a tropical cyclone, but the US weather service warned that the remnants of the storm would continue to cause “heavy rainfall over northeastern Mexico with life-threatening flooding and landslides.” Rainfall amounts of up to 50 centimeters were possible. Maximum sustained wind speeds were about 48 kilometers per hour, the service said.

Meteorologists said waves caused by the storm would continue to affect the Texas coast and northeastern Mexico through Friday, likely causing life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Here are the most important things to know about the storm.

• Alberto, which made landfall on Mexico’s northeast coast as a tropical storm early Thursday morning, weakened throughout the day. By Thursday afternoon, meteorologists said it was “no longer a tropical cyclone.”

• As rain continues in the mountainous regions of Mexico, there is a risk of flash floods and mudslides.

• Several flood warnings and alerts were in effect on the south coast of Texas until Friday evening.

In Mexico, rivers rose.

The Mexican weather service had predicted torrential rains for the northern states of Nuevo León, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí on Thursday. Government workers set up emergency shelters and electricians were sent to areas at risk of power outages.

The volume of water in two rivers that flow through Nuevo León’s capital, Monterrey, had risen considerably within a few hours. By Thursday morning, civil protection authorities in Monterrey were reporting traffic accidents and vehicles stuck on flooded streets.

Seemingly endless streams of brown water flooded parts of Monterrey, an industrial center that is home to several of Mexico’s largest companies, until Thursday afternoon.

The Santa Catarina River, which is only a trickle at certain times of the year, overflowed its banks in several parts of the city – its force even swept away the roadways of some streets.

All classes were suspended and offices and factories were closed on Thursday, Nuevo León Governor Samuel García said in a television interview, adding: “We are in the middle of the most critical phase.”

Public transport had been shut down, he later told reporters, except for residents who were stranded and had to return home or seek emergency accommodation.

Still, the storm’s arrival was a welcome relief for some Mexican states amid a water crisis and scorching heat waves.

“We are waiting for these rains, which will be very beneficial,” said Luis Gerardo González, civil protection coordinator for the state of Tamaulipas, in a radio interview on Wednesday.

A state of emergency has been declared in Texas.

Before the storm, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas said declared a state of disaster for 51 counties due to severe weather.

Alberto flooded areas near Rockport, a coastal city 30 miles north of Corpus Christi, with up to 7 inches of rain and prompted some counties near the border with Mexico to issue tornado warnings. No major injuries were reported Thursday. Scattered rain is still expected Thursday and for the rest of the week, weather officials said.

The most harrowing images of submerged vehicles and streets swept by currents come from Surfside Beach, a retirement community of about 750 residents whose population swells to about 10,000 during the summer peak season.

By Thursday morning, many streets on the west end of the island were under about three feet of water, said Greg Bisso, mayor of Surfside Beach. Most homes were spared major damage because the city has long required that new homes be built 14 feet above sea level.

“When you live on a barrier island, you have to deal with it,” Mr Bisso said. “You know, we are surrounded by water.”

This hurricane season is likely to be stressful.

Meteorologists warn that the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season could be significantly more severe than usual.

At the end of May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted 17 to 25 named storms this year. an “above average” number and a prediction that is consistent with more than a dozen forecasts made by experts at universities, private companies and government agencies earlier in the year. Hurricane season averages 14 named storms.

Michael Corkery, Victoria Kim, Sarah Ruberg , Aime Ortiz And Derrick Bryson Taylor contributed to the reporting.