Moderate to heavy rainfall this week in metro-area Guadalajara has also extended out to the Lake Chapala region, sources there confirm.
Although brief rainfalls are not uncommon during May – the hottest month of the year in these parts – it rarely rains for periods of more than 15-20 minutes. This week’s downpours have lasted for several hours and proved an exception to this general rule.
Flooding was reported at several city intersections, with the worst incidents at Lope de Vega/Inglaterra, and at López de Legazpi and Calles 32 and 14.
The inter-municipal water utility, Siapa, said it is bracing for a protracted and fierce rainy season, which usually starts around mid-June. Utility employees have been working since February to improve the metro area’s hydraulic infrastructure in an effort to mitigate seasonal flooding. Work continues on several colectores (sewer drains) running under major avenues, including Avenida Patria, a notorious flooding zone.
Work has also been carried out at the traffic tunnel at Inglaterra and Niños Heroes, another spot prone to flooding, where lives have been lost during previous storms, as well as on Avenida Mariano Otero near Expo Guadalajara.
Meteorologists say the current rains will abate shortly, and the hot weather return.