Alberto, the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, struck the coast of Mexico on June 19. The storm made landfall near Tampico in the state of Tamaulipas with maximum sustained winds of about 45 miles per hour. All schools in the state were closed, and shelters were prepared to accommodate residents fleeing from the floodwaters.
However, Alberto disappointed the residents of coastal areas in the state of Tamaulipas as it did not bring significant rains to this drought-stricken region. The heavy rains caused by the tropical depression into which Alberto had weakened poured inland, damaging neighboring states Nuevo Leon and Veracruz.
Civil protection authorities reported four fatalities related to Alberto's rains. Among them were two teenagers who died from electric shock in the municipality of Allende while riding a bicycle in the rain. In Nuevo Leon, the rains caused the Santa Catarina River to overflow. Three people stranded on the roof of a submerged house had to be evacuated by air. In the state of Oaxaca, the Dr. Guillermo Zarate Mijangos children's hospital was flooded, and more than 70 people were evacuated. The Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SCT) announced that rains from Tropical Storm Alberto caused 11 incidents on seven highways in the country, leading to road closures and disruptions.
In the states of Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Chiapas, and Coahuila, four roads were completely closed, and sections of highways were closed due to landslides on three roads. A section of the main highway connecting the cities of Monterrey and Saltillo was washed out. In Monterrey, public transport, including the metro, was halted for almost a day. In southern Veracruz, in the city of Xalapa, 24 families were left homeless after heavy rain eroded a retaining wall, causing it to collapse onto three buildings.
Storm Alberto brought heavy rains to southern Texas, USA, on Wednesday, flooding roads in coastal areas, creating dangerous rip currents, and spawning waterspouts at sea. According to the National Weather Service in Rockport, Texas, about 6.3 inches of rain fell, while the average for June is about 2.4 inches. Residents reported damage from water and wind. Two people were rescued from vehicles that stalled on a flooded road. A power line was also downed, leading to a highway closure.
Alberto also triggered storm surges of up to 3 feet along the coasts of northeastern Mexico, Texas, and western Louisiana. In some low-lying areas around Houston and Galveston in Texas, the storm surge reached 6 feet. In Surfside Beach, a Texas town on a barrier island, the storm surge left several damaged roads and a lot of debris in its wake.
The temperature of the world's oceans reached record highs in 2023, and unfortunately, 2024 is continuing this trend.
The Gulf of Mexico also holds an unusually large amount of heat, which fuels tropical hurricanes forming or moving over its waters. The warmer the ocean, the more powerful hurricanes become, bringing heavier rainfall.
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