Massive mudslides kill 40 people after burying entire communities as tropical storm Earl batters Mexico
The number of missing people is still unclear according to government officials after whole neighbourhoods were devastated by the weather
HUGE Mudslides triggered by a massive downfall of rain in eastern Mexico killed 40 people at the weekend as saturated hillsides collapsed.
The small homes in the area were destroyed the wake of Tropical Storm Earl which has now passed.
The death toll rose late on Sunday after state governors in the two most affected regions confirmed two more deaths from a spate of mudslides hitting hillside communities.
The head of national emergency services previously put the death toll at 38.
The majority of people who lost their lives were found in Puebla state, while the remainder died in neighbouring Veracruz.
Rafael Morena Valle, governor of Puebla state, said dog units were searching for the missing, but the number of people missing wasn't clear.
Pictures of the devastation wrought by Earl, showed massive mudslides burying entire hillsides, trees felled and buildings creaking under collapsed walls and roofs.
On the Pacific coast, Mexico's Baja California peninsula braced for another major storm to strike as early as Monday.
Tropical Storm Javier was generating maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour on Sunday night and was forecast to become a hurricane late Monday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Centre.
The centre of the storm was expected to strike the southern tip of Baja, home to the popular beach resort of Los Cabos, by Monday night.
At least 25 of the deaths in Puebla state were confirmed on Sunday near the town of Huauchinango in the rugged Sierra Norte de Puebla mountains, site of the worst destruction so far.
Eleven people have died in Veracruz, buried in landslides after intense rainfall and flooding struck the Gulf coast state after Earl crossed the Yucatan peninsula.
"We continue to monitor rivers that are above critical levels," Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte said in a post on Twitter on Sunday.
Before striking Mexico, Earl battered Belize last Thursday, smashing car windows and punching holes in the roofs of Belize City's wooden houses.
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