Six seconds is all it took for a EF-4 tornado to bring chaos to the Mexican border city of Ciudad Acuna, destroying 750 homes, killing 13 individuals — including three children — and sending hundreds of victims to local hospitals. As Breitbart Texas reported, the tornado ripped an infant from a mother’s arms.
The tornado hit Monday morning around 6 a.m. in the Los Altos de Santa Teresa neighborhood, one of the most populated areas in the border city of Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico’s SinEmbargo.Mx reported.
An F4 tornado caused massive destruction in the Mexican border city of Acuna
The tornado came after more than 30 minutes of pouring rain that was caused by a cold front that hit the border city. The rains caused by the weather phenomena had been ongoing throughout the weekend and government officials had not issued a weather alert. That is when the cold winds clashed with a warm current coming from the Gulf of Mexico which ended up causing the funnel cloud.
“More than 60 vehicles had to be brought down from the roofs; even passenger buses,” said Acuna’s Mayor Everest Lenin Perez.
Dozens of vehicles were thrown by an F4 tornado that struck the border city of Acuna.
The extensive damage caused by the tornado has set off a massive deployment of military, federal and state agencies to the border city to help deal with the aftermath. One of the main shortcomings faced by emergency rescue personnel was the need for more ambulances since the emergency vehicles available were not enough to meet the need.
Lenin Peres said the tornado had caused a catastrophe in his city leaving a level of damage never before seen. The cold front that helped create the tornado is expected to remain in the Mexican border state and create difficulty for rescue and aid workers.
So far, Coahuila’s government has set up seven shelters that can house a total of 700 victims who were affected by the storm while work crews work to restore power and running water to the buildings that remain standing.
Hundreds of homes were lost to an F4 tornado that hit the Mexican border city of Acuna.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto arrived in Acuna on Monday night with his staff where he is expected to help facilitate the deployment of federal money and assets to the rebuilding efforts.
While common in Texas, tornadoes are a rare occurrence in Coahuila. The last tornado to have hit the border state was in 2007. In that instance, one hit in a rural area about 30 minutes away from Acuna killing three individuals.
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