The damage caused by the passing of “Nora” is already being attended to and work is being done on the declaration of emergency for access to additional support.
Interim municipal president, Jorge Antonio Quintero Alvarado, released this Sunday a balance of the effects caused by the passage of Hurricane 'Nora' in Puerto Vallarta, which were mostly caused by the overflow of the Cuale and Pitillal rivers. Those that have already been working since Saturday for their attention and others have been supervised with the support of state authorities to be able to provide the proper response and support that the population requires.
The acting mayor highlighted that in the downtown area there were about 12 blocks with damage due to the overflow of the Cuale River, among these effects are the fall of the old bridge of the southern entrance to the city, the partial fall of a hotel with the loss of the life of a minor whose body has already been recovered, the dragging of a vehicle with a person on board who is still being searched for with the support of the Navy, damage to the Río Cuale market, as well as the collapse of a part of Manantial Street, which is the access to neighborhoods such as Buenos Aires, Paso Ancho, Paso del Guayabo and other rural communities.
Likewise, the overflow of the Pitillal River was recorded, which made it necessary to evacuate about 200 people from the Exhaciendas del Pitillal neighborhood; Four houses were flooded, one in El Pitillal and three in the center, among other damages. Four temporary shelters were set up that initially housed about 50 people in two of these facilities; However, some decided to move to the homes of relatives, so that only 7 people remained in the CECyTEJ, and about 20 people in the Conalep de Ixtapa.
The first mayor explained that they are already working on the sanitation and cleaning of the affected areas, in addition to the heads of Social Assistance and Infrastructure and Public Works of the state. A tour was carried out to analyze the structural damage to the bridges and to see what programs and supports can be landed to support the affected people in their businesses and homes. Damages are being inventoried and a declaration of emergency has been applied, the State Natural Disasters Trust is already active, in which the state government contributes 50% of the resources and the municipality the other 50%.
The director of Civil Protection and Firefighters, Adrián Bobadilla García, stressed that there is still an operation deployed because it is still in the emergency stage, since the flow of the rivers remains significant. He stressed that constant monitoring of the Ameca River also continues, and clarified that there is no intention to close the bridge that connects Vallarta with Bahía de Banderas, since there is still a positive margin in the water level. The bridge over the Cuale River at Calle La Rivera is also showing damage and is under evaluation.
The Secretary of Social Assistance, Alberto Esquer, who is also president of the State Trust for Natural Disasters, explained the operation of this body and the way in which it provides support to the population, to affected businesses, and to the rehabilitation of the infrastructure. This Monday the technical committees together with the municipality begin with their opinions so that according to the indication of the state governor, in a month at the latest there is already a response for all municipalities affected by this hurricane.
Regarding the damage to the infrastructure of the municipality, the person in charge, David Zamora Bueno, referred to the collapse of the bridge over the Cuale River, which occurred due to the large amount of drag that reached this basin. He explained that once the current drops, the engineering and design work will begin to achieve a bridge that guarantees a sufficient hydraulic area, and it will be built with rapid or prefabricated materials, so that this work can be completed in a short time. He indicated that the conditions of the surrounding bridges will also be reviewed to guarantee their safety.
In the same way, work will be done on the executive project for the construction of a retaining wall that supports Manantial street, and the possibility of enabling a provisional and safe road in the part of the slope that remains in place.
The official expressed the support of all state government agencies for this port, a support that was appreciated by the first mayor of Vallarta, who also took the opportunity to recognize the hard work that the different municipal agencies maintain in attending to the different impacts.