Entertainment
In minutes, Mexico’s rains swept away homes and people
HUAUCHINANGO: Standing near the lifeless body of her sister, Rosalia Ortega was grateful to have found her in the river of mud that suddenly swept away her house as torrential rains pounded her Mexican mountain town.
At least 47 people have died since Thursday as floods have wreaked a trail of destruction in the hardest-hit states of Hidalgo, Puebla, Queretaro and Veracruz.
“We’re sad, but at least we’re going to give her a Christian burial,” Ortega, 76, told AFP in the town of Huauchinango, in Puebla, a state east of Mexico City that according to official reports saw nine deaths and substantial damage.
The disaster zone is the Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range that runs parallel to Mexico’s east coast and is dotted with villages where telecommunications and other services have yet to be restored.
On Thursday, well after dark, a rain-swollen mountain river overflowed its banks in Huauchinango and within minutes robbed local residents of their homes and, in some cases, their loved ones.
That’s what happened to Maria Salas, a 49-year-old cook sheltering from the rain with an umbrella, watching two soldiers guarding the entrance to her neighbourhood.
Salas lost five relatives when their house collapsed, and her own home was destroyed by a landslide.
“I can’t get my belongings, I can’t sleep there,” she said. “I have nothing.”
The grieving families are struggling to pay for funerals and, if anything is left over, to recover something from lost or damaged homes.
Huauchinango, with 100,000 residents, is one of the largest communities in the disaster zone and one of a very few that could be accessed Saturday.
Rivers of mud
The floodwaters swept away everything in their path, forming heavy rivers of mud that even rendered intact homes unusable.
“It was knee-deep,” says Petra Rodriguez, a 40-year-old domestic worker whose house was surrounded by water on both sides.
She, her husband and two sons managed to escape, holding hands so that if the water took one of them, “it would take us all,” she said.
In another part of town, teacher Karina Galicia, 49, showed AFP her mud-damaged, musty house. She and her family were able to run out; had they not, “we would have been buried,” she said.
In less damaged houses, neighbours worked to remove water with plastic bottles, brooms and shovels.
Adriana Vazquez, 48, climbed a rough path strewn with stones and mud to see if anything was left of a relative’s house.
What she found was a jumble of wood and tin houses levelled by a landslide. Soldiers were using a backhoe to remove a pile of debris from the street.
Her relative “answered the telephone,” Vasquez said, but she could hardly hear anything and hoped that was due to a poor connection.
About 100 small communities are uncontactable due to road closures and power outages that have complicated telephone services and travel.
Mexico has been hit by particularly heavy rains throughout 2025, with a rainfall record set in the capital, Mexico City.
Meteorologist Isidro Cano told AFP that the intense rainfall since Thursday was caused by a seasonal shift and cloud formation as warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico rises to the mountaintops.
Kourtney Kardashian recently celebrated a personal milestone in a fun and relaxed way.
The 46-year-old reality star shared on her Instagram Stories that she has been sober for three years now.
Kourtney revealed the news while joining her sister Khloe Kardashian to launch the latest flavour of Khloud popcorn.
“@Khloudfoods @KhloeKardashian def told them I haven’t drank alcohol in 3 years. Fancy Friday,” she wrote.
In the video, the mother of four enjoyed a mocktail which was apparently made with non-alcoholic gin and was styled with popcorn pieces.
However, she reached for a sample of the new snack while praising it with an enthusiastic “Love it!”
The Kardashians star’s choice to quit alcohol comes as she focuses on her health, her kids and being more present in life.
Her husband Travis Barker has been sober for over 17 years now after a serious plane crash in 2008.
She has also been making other changes in her lifestyle as well as she has gone four years without Botox, saying that it helps her keep her “third eye open.”
Moreover, Kourtney’s latest lifestyle choices reflect her commitment to her wellness.
Paul Hardcastle is heartbroken after the death of his son Paul Jr in a motorcycle accident.
The 68-year-old musician, who is best known for his 1985 hit 19, revealed that he talked to his 35-year-old son just minutes before the crash.
Paul shared in an emotional Instagram video, “He went like, ‘I’ll get back to you in five minutes.’ He didn’t get back to me in five minutes.”
The Soft Rain singnger described the moment as “police came to his home to deliver the tragic news,” saying that the officers were kind but hearing that his son has died was very overwhelming.
He also warned others about risky decisions, saying that some choices can change your life in instantly.
Paul Jr followed his father’s footsteps, playing the saxophone and DJing.
Paul first shared the news on Instagram with a childhood photo of his son, writing, “Just to let you know that my super talented son Paul Hardcastle Jnr was in a fatal motorcycle accident earlier and has sadly died. RIP son love Dad.”
Paul Hardcastle, however, called his son “lovely” and said losing him was heartbreaking.
Priscilla Presley has shared her memories of life with Elvis Presley, talking about the happy moments and the struggles they faced together.
The King of Rock and Roll died in 1977 at the age of 42 but Priscilla still believes tht he would still be performing if he were alive today.
She told HELLO! Magazine, “I think he’d be doing the same thing in life – singing and touring. He loved it.”
The star’s new memoir talks about the life they shared, a process that she said was not easy at all.
It took her over 11 months to finish, and she recalled both the wonderful and difficult times.
“You remember a lot of things, and it was a good thing, to be honest. A lot of remembering wonderful times and difficult times and you’re reliving your life,” she explained.
Priscilla and Elvis were married from 1967 to 1973 but stayed close after their divorce.
However, the Dallas actress made sure that their daughter Lisa Marie Presley spent a lot of time with him at Graceland and she was used to take her to see his shows.
Even after everything, she said they cared for each other, “We still cared for each other, he was fun to be with.”
For the unversed, the memoir, Softly, As I Leave You Life After Elvis, gave fans a personal and emotional look at their lives.
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