Many of these subdivisions are very low or built-in gullies, so they flood every time heavy rains fall, regardless of whether they have drainage or not.
Due to the orography of the soil, topographically these areas are lower or on hollow ground, in Mérida, places such as the Las Américas subdivision, and those located in the area of Dzitya, Komchem, Temozón Norte, and Sierra Papacal, as well as in the Caucel and Cholul subdivisions, to mention a few, are considered areas at high risk of flooding, since every time rains fall above 100 liters per square meter, these areas get flooded inevitably.
Other areas, such as those close to the Oriente Bus Station, the city cemetery, San Sebastián, and even the Alemán neighborhood, are at medium risk if weather conditions are too harsh, due to the particular type of soil, which does not allow water to be easily absorbed.
According to topographical studies of the city, verified by the civil engineer and meteorologist, Juan Vázquez Montalvo, in past years, there was a natural drainage in downtown streets towards 59, which then moved to Itzáes Avenue and went to the Sambulá neighborhood, where there was a hollow through which the water went to the subsoil when the drainage capacity of these colonies was exceeded.
Currently, the reconstruction of streets due to modernization and leveling has taken away this natural advantage from the land. Added to this is the risk of erosion in the city, which is getting higher and higher due to the construction of real estate developments that destroy the vegetation, which is the main factor that keeps the land on the surface, so deforestation causes the land goes to the cavernous subsoil characteristic of the State.
He pointed out that the municipality still does not include a sinkhole or landslide risk map in its risk atlas and that, according to a study carried out by the Autonomous University of Mexico and the National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research, 43 percent of the territory of Mérida is located in an area of medium risk of flooding.
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