The situation that people experienced during the afternoon and part of the night this Wednesday was chaotic with the torrential downpour that fell in downtown Mérida, putting the drainage system to a severe test, which was insufficient in some places.
The rain was due to a combination of weather phenomena, according to meteorologist Juan Antonio Palma Solís.
The passage of a tropical wave and its interaction with a low pressure system located over the Gulf of Mexico were the driving force behind this climatic instability.
Heavy rain in downtown Mérida causes damage
It was shortly before 5 p.m. when the rain began. At first, it was not intense in the city center, but with brief pauses. However, just when it seemed that the bad weather had subsided, the situation became more complex.
The streets of downtown Mérida were flooded to the point where pedestrians couldn’t get their feet wet.
City Hall workers clear the water in Santa Lucía Park to allow for the evening concert.
City Hall workers clear the water in Santa Lucía Park to allow for the evening concert.
Late in the afternoon, the downpour intensified. Proof of this was that shortly after 5:30 p.m., more than 12 mm of rain had already fallen in the city center.
The intensity was such that at 6:16 p.m., the Mérida City Hall suspended the opening of the city’s Jazz Festival, which was in its first day.
Previously, the Queso de Bola Festival committee postponed the event because they saw a high probability of rain in the weather. The decision was the right one.
The streets of downtown Mérida turned into “canals and rivers”
By 7 p.m., the downtown area had practically become a network of “canals” and “rivers” formed by the downpour, which, according to measurements from the Atmospheric Monitoring Network, reached 90 mm of rain.
This is equivalent to 90 liters of water falling per square meter, making today’s rain a serious storm.
In some places, the water rose above the sidewalks, as was the case on 60th Street at its intersection with 67th Street, and on 65th Street and 58th Street.
Walking on these streets was difficult, and several pedestrians suffered from water soaking their shoes, as passing vehicles caused water to cover the sidewalks.
City Hall workers had to clear the water in Santa Lucía Park to allow for the evening concert.
Traffic slowed down, and traffic jams were evident. Another common sight was people carrying umbrellas, raincoats, and even garbage bags, all of which served to protect themselves.
There were plenty of people who took off their shoes, rolled up their pants, and ventured through the murky water.
This situation also occurred around the market, where many people had to resign themselves to wading through the water to reach their destinations or seek shelter under a roof while the downpour passed.
There were points where the water rose above the ankles of people walking through it.
Several business employees struggled to keep the water at bay and prevent it from entering their workplaces.
Heavy rain in other areas of Mérida
In the García Ginerés neighborhood and surrounding areas, the rain was also heavy, with records of 89 mm (3.5 in).
The eastern part of the city also saw significant rainfall, with around 52 mm (2 in). These were the areas that received the heaviest rainfall.
Meanwhile, in the south of the city, in the Cuxtal Ecological Reserve and nearby towns, the rainfall reached 49 mm (1.9 in).
In the rest of Mérida, rainfall reached between 1 and 20 mm, explained Palma Solís when presenting the rainfall record for Mérida.
390 lightning strikes in Mérida
He also added that electrical activity during the storm was considerable, with 390 lightning strikes detected.
Source: yucatan.com.mx
