‘I’ve never seen it before’: Mexican city buried under 2m of ice in freak hailstorm (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
Residents in Guadalajara, one of Mexico’s most populous cities, were gobsmacked when they awoke to find two meters of hailstones piled up in the streets overnight.
The area has experienced average summer temperatures of 31 degrees celsius in recent days prior to the two meter-deep bombardment of hailstones.
#AlMomento siguen los trabajos de remoción de hielo en las calles de la colonia Rancho Blanco con el apoyo de maquinaria pesada de nuestra dependencia, retiramos el granizo de las calles y posteriormente se depositaran en camiones de volteo. @GobiernoJaliscopic.twitter.com/su9L2ee4A9
— Protección Civil JAL (@PCJalisco) June 30, 2019
“Well, I’ve never seen it before,” said Jalisco’s state governor Enrique Alfaro. “Hailstones that look like snow. And then we ask ourselves ‘does climate change exist?’” Authorities deployed heavy machinery to clear the icy buildup in at least six city neighborhoods.
Muy temprano, antes de ir a la CDMX para el arranque de la Guardia Nacional, estuve en el lugar para evaluar la situación y fui testigo de escenas que nunca había visto: el granizo a más de un metro de altura, y luego nos preguntamos si el cambio climático existe. pic.twitter.com/cognB1JHg6
— Enrique Alfaro (@EnriqueAlfaroR) June 30, 2019
Some 200 homes and businesses reported damage though there were no injuries registered. Two people reportedly showed preliminary signs of hypothermia, however.
While many were stunned by the highly unusual phenomenon, others took the opportunity to pillory the governor for his inaction in updating the city’s drainage and infrastructure.
#IMPORTANTE trabajamos en coordinación con autoridades municipales en la colonia Rancho Blanco, donde se registró gran cantidad de granizo alcanzando hasta un metro de altura en algunas partes, nuestros oficiales trabajan en la remoción del material que está en las calles. pic.twitter.com/nfktldeMEz
— Protección Civil JAL (@PCJalisco) June 30, 2019
“Climate change exists but let’s be honest, it’s an area that floods regularly. The hailstones would not have accumulated in such a way if proper stormwater drainage systems were in place. The same thing happened two years ago,” wrote one frustrated Twitter commentator.
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