Guadalajara experienced the first storms of the rainy season in the early hours of Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Reports of flooding, fallen trees, auto accidents, power outages and malfunctioning traffic lights filtered in from across the metropolitan area in the wake of the storms.
Heavier rains are expected in the city this year compared to 2011’s lackluster wet season, which was 40 percent drier than average. To lessen the effects of flooding, metro-area water authority Siapa has desilted 85 percent of Guadalajara’s sewers and drains.
Siapa has also identified 67 metro-area sites especially prone to flooding. The points most at risk are Plaza del Sol, the canal on Avenida Patria, Avenida Inglaterra, Guadalupe and Cordilleras, Ferrocarrileros and Washington, Lazaro Cardenas and Mariano Otero, Colon and Patria, and the Parque Morelos.Among the most dangerous zones are traffic tunnels, which are seriously prone to flash flooding during storms. Motorists are advised not to enter tunnels during heavy rains, even if the water level may only seem slight.