At least 13 people died and hundreds more were left homeless after a category 4 tornado whipped through Ciudad Acuña, a Mexican border city.
The twister flipped cars, leveled homes and sent a baby flying in a seven-block area early Monday morning following heavy rain in the city of approximately 135,000. Some people who were driving when the tornado touched down got trapped in their vehicles, several of which had been slammed into buildings or had their hoods ripped off. A yellow bus was left flipped on its side in ruins.
Hasta este momento reporta el Gobierno del Estado de #Coahuila oficial: 13 fallecidos tras el #Tornado en Cd. #Acuña— Luis Felipe Puente (@LUISFELIPE_P) May 25, 2015
Local hospitals were treating hundreds of people. Some of the dead, covered by sheets, were carried away from the devastation in the back of a pickup truck as crowds of people gathered around the rubble, images and video of the aftermath show. The twister even tore a baby in a carrier from its mother's arms, according to The Associated Press. The fate of the infant is unclear.
Hundreds of homes were also destroyed. Of the 13 confirmed dead, 10 were adults and three were infants, according to authorities.
#AcuñaEstamosContigo con el apoyo de todos para brindar apoyo a quienes lo requieren en estos momentos #FuerzaAcuña pic.twitter.com/CRqmYQ9kRS— Lenin Perez (@leninperezr) May 25, 2015
"There's nothing standing, not walls, not roofs," City Spokesman Edgar Gonzalez told The Associated Press.
Ciudad Acuña borders the U.S. state of Texas, where 12 were reported missing following flash flooding and storms.
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Government officials called a state of emergency and set up temporary housing. The mayor of Ciudad Acuña, which is in the Mexican state of Coahuila, used social media to call for help using the hashtags, #AcuñaNosNecesita, which roughly translates to #AcuñaNeedsUs, and #AcuñaEstamosContigo, or #AcuñaWe'reWithYou. He also asked residents of the ravaged city to offer food, clothes and water to those affected by the tornado.
Convoco a todos los ciudadanos de acuña y estado, ayudar a nuestros hermanos afectados. agua, comida enlatada y ropa. #fuerzaacuña— Lenin Perez (@leninperezr) May 25, 2015
Messages of support for Ciudad Acuña flooded Twitter, with many urging people to donate goods to victims.
Acuña saldrá Adelante, por la solidaridad y sensibilidad de su Gente, @leninperezr y @rubenmoreiravdz pic.twitter.com/4K4qA3Be8j— armando muruaga (@muruagag) May 25, 2015
¡Apoyemos a nuestros hermanos de #Acuña!. Centros de acopio en @DIF Saltillo, @BomberoSALTCOAH, @SaltilloPC 8 a 3 pm. pic.twitter.com/M7wNkV7tLs— Isidro Lopez (@IsidroLopezV) May 25, 2015
Neighboring states also vowed to send aid and the Mexican Army has dispatched soldiers to the dilapidated area.