Overview

• Official reports list at least 18 deaths and thousands of affected families across northern Veracruz, with Poza Rica among the hardest-hit areas.
• Local leaders and residents report home invasions and organized store raids, while extortion calls target families searching for missing relatives.
• State and federal authorities said poor weather made an immediate air bridge impossible but announced a mass airlift with doctors and supplies starting Sunday.
• On-the-ground accounts describe oil and sludge contaminating homes and cisterns, leaving tap water unusable and compounding health risks.
• With roads cut and security forces described as late or absent during crucial hours, communities turned to self-help, including evacuations financed by relatives in the United States in Ilamatlán.