Mexico declares state of emergency as death toll from Hurricane Agatha rises to 19

“Nine more people were killed and search efforts to find six missing people are continuing,” said Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat.

All of these fatalities were due to freshwater flooding in the Sierra Madre del Sur, with some people swept away by overflowing rivers or buried by mudslides, according to local media reports.

Coastal regions were also heavily impacted. Bridges collapsed on thoroughfares leading to San Pedro Pochutla and Huatulco.

Power outages affected 46,563 people in Oaxaca and another 23,519 in neighboring Veracruz according to the Federal Electricity Commission.

Meanwhile, the extent of the damage in Oaxaca prompted Governor Murat to request declarations of emergency for 26 of the state's municipalities. (ILKHA)