While summer storms have caused frequent flooding on the streets of the Guadalajara metro area, the 2021 rainy season is now starting to provoke natural disasters in Lake Chapala’s shoreline communities.
The town of Jamay, located on the lake’s eastern extreme, has been hit hard by two flash floods this month.
Heavy rainfall that accumulated over a 24-hour period built up the flow of the Jamay Arroyo early July 8. The most significant damage involved a compact sedan parked near its path that was caught and carried away in the strong current.
A more severe storm struck around 8:30 p.m. July 11, with a steady downpour continuing until dawn. In this instance the arroyo’s churning waters swept away five vehicles and spilled over into streets where homes in two neighborhoods became flooded by overflowing water and mud.
On Wednesday, July 21, torrential rains poured down on the south shore town of Tizapàn el Alto, causing the Rio La Pasion to jump its banks. The raging river carried away one small car, along with mangled trees and vegetation growing on its shores, littered adjacent streets with debris, and left at least 20 homes mired up to 30 centimeters deep in mucky flood waters.