After the drought, deadly rains in Mexico

Four people died in torrential rains that abruptly ended a 16-month drought in Monterrey, the industrial capital in northeastern Mexico where authorities had to ration water.

The four victims – two women, a man, a minor – were killed when a torrent swept away the vehicle in which they were traveling, civil protection said in a statement.

“The rain we have been waiting for is coming, but we must be extremely careful to avoid any accident,” New Leon State Governor Samuel Garcia warned, announcing the suspension of classes in some schools on Monday.

At the height of the drought that had dried up two of the three dams feeding Monterrey, Mr Garcia had promoted ‘cloud seeding’ (sending silver iodide particles into the sky) to speed up condensation and trigger the rain.