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|total fatalities=636 total |areas affected=Central America, Mexico }} In October 1999, severe flooding affected portions of eastern Mexico and Central America. Rainfall in September preceded the primary event in Mexico, which moistened soils. On October 4, Tropical Depression Eleven developed in the Gulf of Mexico, which drew humidity from the gulf and the Pacific Ocean to produce torrential rainfall in mountainous regions of eastern Mexico, reaching in Jalacingo, Veracruz. This was the third-highest tropical cyclone-related rainfall total in Mexico from 1980-2006, and the event caused the highest rainfall related to tropical cyclones in Veracruz, Hidalgo, and Puebla. In some locations, the daily rainfall represented over 10% of the annual precipitation total. The heaviest rainfall occurred in mountainous regions that were the mouths of several rivers. A broad trough absorbed the depression on October 6, and rainfall continued for the next few days. Additional rainfall occurred in Tabasco state on October 18. The floods were estimated as a 1 in 67 year event in one location, although such floods are expected to affect eastern Mexico twice per century, the last time being 1944. Throughout Mexico, the floods killed at least 379 people, according to the federal government, and as many as 600 according to relief agencies; the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters later estimated there were 636 deaths, and damage in Mexico was estimated at $451.3 million (4.3 billion pesos). Nationwide, the floods damaged or destroyed 90,000 houses, which left about 500,000 people homeless. Flooding caused thousands of landslides, many in more populated areas than the flooding in 1944. The floods also caused 39 rivers to overflow, and the combination of floods and landslides destroyed bridges, houses, widespread crop fields, schools, and electrical networks. Impact was worst in Puebla, where damage totaled $240 million (2.1 billion pesos) and many roads were washed out. Landslides in the state killed 107 people in Teziutlán. Elsewhere in the country, the floods washed crocodiles into the streets of Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco, and in Oaxaca, the rainfall occurred after an earthquake left thousands homeless. Flooding also extended into Central America in late September through early October, causing $40 million (385 million pesos) in crop damage and 70 deaths. After the floods receded, Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo ordered the Department of National Defense to utilize all resources to assist the people affected by the floods. More than 94,000 people stayed at 896 shelters after being evacuated due to the floods. The federal government allocated $234 million (2.34 billion pesos) in relief, which was smaller than the damage total. Widespread medical teams assisted tens of thousands of homes, and due to prevention measures, there were no outbreaks of diseases. Roads and electrical systems were gradually restored, and students returned to school after repairs were made. Residents throughout Mexico sent supplies to the Mexican Red Cross, including 500 tons of food and water, and international agencies sent money and supplies to the flood victims. ==Meteorological history== Beginning around September 10, heavy rainfall occurred sporadically in southern Mexico and into Central America, influenced by a broader storm system related to Hurricane Floyd.〔 Toward the end of September, heavy rainfall occurred in the mountains of northeastern Mexico, which prompted officials to open flood gates. The rains occurred throughout Mexico for about two weeks before the worst of the precipitation began, and saturated soils before the heaviest rainfall in October.〔 On October 4, Tropical Depression Eleven developed in the Bay of Campeche about northeast of Veracruz, having originated from a tropical wave. Due to weak steering currents, the depression moved erratically, initially to the south and later to the west-northwest. It failed to intensify due to a surface trough over the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico, connected to a cold front. While the depression was drifting, it produced large areas of convection over eastern Mexico, aided by high humidity from the gulf and from the Pacific Ocean.〔 On October 6, the circulation was absorbed into the trough,〔 although rainfall continued to occur through October 9.〔 A week later, Hurricane Irene affected southern Mexico with strong rains.〔 Additional rainfall occurred on October 18 in Tabasco, causing further flooding; the waters in the state began receding on October 28. The wet conditions in eastern Mexico, occurring at the same time as hot, dry conditions elsewhere in the country, were possibly related to La Niña conditions. Due to easterly wind shear and the convection along the storm's western periphery, the tropical depression dropped heavy rainfall in the states of Puebla, Tabasco, Hidalgo, and Veracruz, peaking at in Jalacingo, Veracruz.〔 This was the highest rainfall total in Veracruz from 1981 to 2010; statewide record peaks were also reported in Puebla and Hidalgo. The depression was the third wettest tropical cyclone in Mexico from 1983 to 2006, after Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Tropical Storm Frances in 1998.〔 The heaviest of the rainfall occurred along the Sierra Madre Oriental, which is a mountain range in eastern Mexico and the source for several regionally important rivers. Tuxpan, Veracruz recorded 6.2 in (157.7 mm) in a 24‑hour period on October 4, which was greater than the average October rainfall there and was about one-ninth of the annual total. A station in Hidalgo reported 4.02 in (102 mm) on October 4, which was also greater than the average October rainfall and was about one-eighth of the annual total. The return period was estimated as high as a 1 in 67 year event at Xicotepec, Puebla, and it was estimated that such floods in Mexico occur only twice per century;〔 similar floods occurred in September 1944 in the same region, although the area was less populated then. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「October 1999 Mexico floods」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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