The homes of an estimated 160,000 children have been damaged or destroyed in eastern and southern Mexico following some of the worst rains and flooding to hit the country in recent years, said Save the Children
Mexico City, 17 October 2025 - The homes of an estimated 160,000 children have been damaged or destroyed in eastern and southern Mexico following some of the worst rains and flooding to hit the country in recent years, said Save the Children [1].
At least 6,000 people are receiving assistance in 149 temporary shelters across the most affected states, with many others taking refuge with friends and family, and others sleeping amidst rubble and mud in their damaged homes.
The extent of the damage is still emerging with further heavy rain predicted across eastern and southern Mexico in coming days, raising the risk of further impacts on children and their families, said Save the Children.
Save the Children works in the affected states and has mobilized support to families who have lost their homes or who have been cut off from local markets and shops, including food products and hygiene items to help prevent spread of diseases and to help families disinfect their homes and safely store clean water. Save the Children is also providing children with psychosocial support and items such as stuffed toys and colouring books to those who have lost their personal belongings and toys to help strengthen their emotional resilience and psychosocial well-being.
In the worst-affected areas of Puebla and Veracruz, the Ministry of Public Education has warned that children may miss out on classes for two weeks. This prolonged period out of school and the lack of medical and psychosocial care is affecting children’s well-being, especially in already vulnerable rural and indigenous communities, said Save the Children.
Dirk Glas, Save the Children’s CEO in Mexico, said:
“Many children’s homes are now filled with mud, and they have lost everything — from their school notebooks and toys to their clothes. Living conditions remain unsanitary, with foul odours and a heightened risk of diseases such as dengue due to the humid environment.
“Beyond the physical devastation, children are enduring the emotional and psychological impact of a tragedy that struck so suddenly they have yet to fully process it. Moreover, several communities remain cut off, and the full extent of the damage — including the number of missing people — is still unknown.
“Reaching communities in many areas is challenging due to the devastation the floods have wreaked, cutting off transport links, which makes children who have been impacted by the flooding even more vulnerable.
“The needs are already significant, and children and if the rains continue as projected, children face further risk of displacement, seeing their friends and loved ones die and prolonged disruptions to their education just as a new school year had started.”
Since early October, unusually intense rainfall across Mexico has triggered landslides and flash floods, damaging infrastructure and electricity, water, and sanitation networks raising the risk of diseases such as such as dengue which is carried by mosquitoes that breed in stagnant water.
Mexico is no stranger to heavy rains and flooding during the country’s cyclone and hurricane season, which typically runs until November. However extreme rainfall events are predicted to become more frequent over this century. In 2023, Hurricane Otis damaged or destroyed around 250,000 homes, with scientists blaming climate change and rising sea temperatures for its rapid intensification from a tropical storm to a hurricane.
Save the Children has been working in Mexico since 1973 with health and nutrition, education, and protection programmes for children. In 2019, Save the Children Mexico received the National Civil Protection Award for its humanitarian work and support to communities affected by earthquakes that struck Mexico City, Morelos, Puebla and Oaxaca in 2017.
ENDS
NOTES:
[1] Government estimates around 100,000 homes damaged. With average household size in Mexico of 3.6 people, Save the Children estimates that some 160,000 children have been impacted by this damage. https://reliefweb.int/report/mexico/mexico-floods-flash-update-no-1-16-october-2025
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