The evaluation of the affected areas has been carried out by Civil Protection and emergency corporations. “At the moment they have registered an overflow of the banks of the riverbed in the area of Parque de Landeta (8 meters), the Obraje drains are at 100% and they confirm an increase in the levels of the Arroyo de Las Cachinches”.

 

In a tour prior to noon, Atención spoke with several merchants, who said that in other years they have been evacuated and nothing has happened; however, Civil Protection asks that they remain closed due to the risk of overflowing.

 

Yesterday, Josafat Enríquez (Director of the PC) maintained that the collapsed boardwalk had not been identified, today it was finally identified with the overflight of a drone. This is the Bordo Grande de Santas Marías; it has an approximate capacity of 213 thousand cubic meters of water, of which it has spilled some 18 thousand cubic meters. This one is fed by smaller banks.

 

It is requested to be alert to Civil Protection warnings.

 

 

RAVAGES OF THE PAST 

 

On July 1, 2019, an early morning hailstorm caused havoc. Marcos Esquivel, coordinator of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Guanajuato, explained that during the change of seasons “there are extreme [weather] phenomena; strong winds cause cooling in the lower layers, causing hail to fall.” He could not rule out that the phenomenon would not be repeated because of the high altitude of the city—1900 meters above sea level.

 

On that day, the hail and rain produced icy water that caused flooding, with layers of ice up to 50 centimeters deep. The flood carried off a large-scale photo exhibit on Calle San Francisco almost to the Guanajuato bridge. Even a compact car disappeared in the flood. Reported as stolen, it was spotted days later in the arroyo by residents on Homobono Street. Apparently carried off by the flood, it broke through a portal and got stuck in a concrete girder. Removing it was problematic, and wasn’t achieved until June 2020. “The owner sold it for scrap iron,” said a workman. The hailstorm even carried off cobblestones on Calle Aparicio. City employees worked for a month to restore the area.

 

Article excerpt “Gone With The Water“.