TULANCINGO DE BRAVO, Mexico (AFP) — Floods caused by torrential rains have killed at least 37 people in Mexico in recent days and left behind a trail of destruction, the government said Saturday.

Mexico’s civil defense authorities reported intense rainfall in 31 of 32 states, causing rivers to overflow, flooding entire villages, triggering landslides and collapsing roads and bridges.

The central state of Hidalgo has been among the worst-affected areas, with authorities there reporting at least 22 dead, 1,000 homes damaged and 90 communities inaccessible to rescuers, the federal security secretariat said.

It said that neighboring Puebla state had at least nine dead.

Around 80,000 people have been affected by the extreme weather in Puebla alone, the state government said.

Floods have killed five people in the eastern state of Veracruz and one in Queretaro state, in central Mexico, officials said.

“We are working to support the population, reopen roads and get the power back on,” President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X after a meeting with local officials and members of her cabinet.

She added that thousands of troops as well as boats, planes and helicopters have been deployed to assist the rescue efforts.

The military will help distribute aid in affected areas, with more than 5,400 troops deployed, along with rescue equipment and vehicles.

Shelters were open for those displaced from their homes.

The main disaster area has been Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range that runs parallel to the Gulf of Mexico coast.

It is dotted by small communities, many of which were blocked off on Friday.

An AFP team in Tulancingo, a city in Hidalgo state, saw roads leading into the mountains closed off due to landslides and collapses.

Mexico has been hit by particularly heavy rains throughout 2025, with a rainfall record set in the capital Mexico City.

Meteorologist Isidro Cano told AFP that the intense rainfall since Thursday was caused by a seasonal shift and cloud formation as warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico rises to the mountaintops.

A cold front traveling from the north has also increased rainfall across much of the country, the expert added.

Authorities in areas off the Pacific coast are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Raymond and remnants of Priscilla, which was once a hurricane.

Both storms dumped heavy rains on Mexico’s west, causing damage in Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Michoacan states.

Raymond is expected to hit the southern part of Baja California over the weekend, according to the US National Hurricane Center. It is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression by Sunday.