Severe weather is wreaking havoc in parts of South Texas and northern Mexico as Tropical Storm Alberto drenched the region on Wednesday and Thursday.
Alberto is causing heavy flooding and power outages in the Mexican city of Monterrey, a key hub for trade between the U.S. and Mexico. Parts of the city have received over 10 inches of rain, according to reports.
Samuel Garcia, governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, urged people to stay home during a post on X at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
“We are about to enter the most critical part of the storm, and we need everyone to do their part to safeguard the lives of the people of Nuevo Leon,” Garcia said. “To the general population we ask for zero risks and extreme prudence. Please avoid leaving home and stay up to date with official announcements. We call on companies and entrepreneurs to, if possible, implement home offices, or stop work so as not to expose their workers.”
Related: Tropical storm warning issued as Texas braces for flash flooding
Mike Burkhart, vice president for Mexico at brokerage giant C.H. Robinson, said Monterrey is one of Mexico’s primary automotive manufacturing hubs.
“Monterrey is experiencing widespread flooding and power outages. Both automakers and auto-parts makers are clustered in Monterrey,” Burkhart told FreightWaves in an email. “A toll road leading into Monterrey has been closed because of mudslides, leaving intense traffic on the only other main commercial route that comes into Monterrey and continues north to the U.S. The carriers we work with in Mexico are hauling as much as they can, but with caution. We’re already seeing less freight coming through our three cross-dock facilities in Laredo today.”
Burkhart said cross-border rail shipments have largely continued as normal.
“Mexico and cross-border rail service has been mostly unaffected so far, except for one of the railroads temporarily closing their ramp in Monterrey,” he said. “The main impact we’re expecting today is rain and wind slowing down the loading and unloading of containers and the movement of containers around the yards.”
Heavy rains and rising waters prompted the temporary closure of the ports of Altamira and Tampico along Mexico’s Gulf Coast. Altamira and Tampico reopened Thursday afternoon with extended hours to work through a backlog of ships waiting to be processed.
Tropical Storm Alberto also drenched Corpus Christi, Texas, with a storm surge and heavy rains Wednesday. The National Weather Service reported up to 3 feet of storm surge from South Padre Island to Corpus Christi during the storm.
Due to the severe weather, the Corpus Christi Ship Channel was closed for marine traffic on Wednesday. It’s unclear if the channel was reopened on Thursday. Officials for the Port of Corpus Christi did not immediately respond to a request for comment from FreightWaves.