page_title: Hurricane Alex (2010)
section_title: Nuevo León
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Alex (2010) / Impact / Northeastern Mexico / Nuevo León
caption_attribution_description: The Santa Catarina River in Monterrey, Nuevo León flooded by Hurricane Alex.
context_page_description: Hurricane Alex was a rare June Atlantic hurricane and the first tropical cyclone to develop in the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. Originating from an area of disturbed weather on June 25, 2010, it slowly developed in the western Caribbean Sea and struck Belize as a strong tropical storm. After entering the Gulf of Mexico, Alex became very large and encountered conditions favorable for gradual development. Early on June 30, the cyclone attained hurricane status as it approached northeastern Mexico, the first June hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Allison in 1995, and the storm rapidly intensified just off the coast of Tamaulipas. Alex came ashore near Soto la Marina as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
  Alex caused the deaths of at least 51 people along its path, and produced over $1.5 billion in damage. The precursor of the hurricane produced substantial rainfall across the Greater Antilles, causing one death in the Dominican Republic. Fourteen people were killed in Central America as a result of flooding during the first landfall of Alex.
context_section_description: In Nuevo León, fifteen people were confirmed to have died: one bricklayer who died after a housing unit under construction collapsed on top of him; two men and a woman who died after their vehicle rolled over and crashed into a semi-trailer truck due to the intense rainfall; a 25-year-old who was swept away by swift currents and pinned against a fence; an elderly man who died after a wall toppled over him, a woman who died after a large boulder from a rock slide fell on her home, and a young man who fell onto the Arroyo Topo Chico. Eight more bodies were found after floodwaters began receding, although one is believed to have been washed away from a cemetery. Twenty people in Nuevo León were reported missing.
  According to the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, 4,000 customers lost electric power in the Monterrey metropolitan area, as did 61,000 people statewide. 18 wells lost power, leaving 110,000 without water service in the municipalities of Santa Catarina and García. Heavy flooding occurred along the Santa Catarina River in Monterrey, normally a dry river bed that flows into the Rio Grande, causing it to reach a record flow of 88,000 cu ft/s (2,500 m³/s). The flooded stream washed away multiple parked vehicles, a popular flea market, and sport facilities built within a riverside greenway. The Santa Catarina River also destroyed about 45 kilometres (28 mi) of Monterrey's main arterial streets. Multiple washouts caused the closure of the divided highway between Monterrey and Saltillo, Coahuila. In San Nicolás de los Garza, the Arroyo Topo Chico exceeded its banks, forcing multiple street closures. An explosion and fire occurred on a bridge in the Guadalupe municipality when a transformer fell on an old gas pipe. No injuries were reported due to the fire. In Linares, the rainfall from Alex's remnants caused a wing of the municipal townhouse, which was built in 1896, to collapse. The building was listed as a protected historic building. A bridge on the Pilón River collapsed in Montemorelos, rupturing a 24-inch oil pipeline in the process. However, the valves on both ends of the pipeline section were closed, minimizing the leak over the river, and the leak was not expected to adversely impact drinking water supplies in El Cuchillo Dam. Hurricane Alex affected the infrastructure of 1,077 schools in the state, 60 of which were severely damaged and 552 held intermediate damage. Nationwide disruption in Internet connection and cell phone services was caused by damage to optical fibers, backbone nodes and telephonic central stations in Monterrey. Additionally, Telefónica reported damage to its network in Monterrey and Saltillo, causing intermittent unavailability of telecommunication services. Preliminary estimates of the damage in the state rose to $10 billion (2010 MXN; US$762 million); final damage estimates released on August 5 totaled $16.9 billion (2010 MXN; US$1.35 billion) statewide.
caption: Santa Catarina River flooding through Monterrey, Nuevo León
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