According to local authorities, the flooding was caused by the discharge of a dam in Lomo de Toro.
Hundreds of residents of the riverside of Río San Juan in Querétaro, have been evacuated from their homes due to the overflow of this watercourse.
According to the first reports of San Juan del Río authorities, the overflow was caused by the discharge of the Constitución 1857 dam, in Lomo de Toro.
At approximately 22:00 hours on TuesdaySeptember 26, the water level of the river began to rise, thus the residents of Barrio de la Cruz, Arboledas, El Espárrago, Residencial San Pedro housing development, Las Huertas, El Country, and las Alamedas reported the flooding to local authorities. In just a matter of minutes, the water level rose over a meter and the residents had to be evacuated.
According to local Civil Protection reports, they were notified the discharge of the dam would cause an increase of 23 cubic meters and a gradual increase overnight; however, in less than an hour, the volume rose to 150 cubic meters.
As reported by the local authorities, the dam is managed by the National Water Commission (CONAGUA).
Rescuers helping people (Photo: El Universal)
The Mayor of San Juan del Rïo, Guillermo Vega, added through social networks that there were other communities affected, such as Paso Ancho, Puente de Fierro and San Isidro.
“We’ve requested CONAGUA to close the flow or to decrease the discharge volume to reduce the risk for the population. Any situation can be reported to the 911,” he said.
Due to the severity of the situation, members of the Querétaro Police, the state’s Civil Protection Coordination, Volunteer Firefighters of San Juan del Rïo, Pedro Escobedo and Tequisquiapan joined forces with the local Police, Civil Protection, and the Mexican Army.
Tequisquiapan firefighters used sea rescue equipment to help out the people who remianed trapped inside their homes.
At the moment, authorities haven’t made public the extent of the material damages or whether any one was injured by the discharge of the dam. Likewise, there isn’t an official number of people affected by this situation.
As of 4 AM on Friday September 29, other communities have reported flooding, given the flow of the river has been running along the stream bed, that is usually dry.
Through a press release, the local government of San Juan del Río stated they hold CONAGUA responsible of all the damages.
Source: www.eluniversal.com.mx
