Tropical Wave 40 Lashes Quintana Roo, Toppling CFE Pole and Cutting Power in Cancún

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Heavy rain from Tropical Wave 40 battered municipalities across northern Quintana Roo, toppling a CFE (Federal Electricity Commission) pole onto parked cars in Cancún, flooding streets and knocking out traffic signals, authorities and residents reported.

The storm, accompanied by lightning and thunder, struck hardest in Cancún, where multiple streets and main avenues filled with water, forcing drivers to slow down or seek alternate routes. Encharcamientos were documented across several supermanzanas in local reports and on social media.

In the La Guadalupana subdivision, a CFE pole collapsed and crushed several parked vehicles. Residents in the immediate area also reported minor damage to the electrical service. The CFE has not issued a detailed statement on what caused the structure to fall or on how long repairs will take.

The Municipal Transit Department deployed officers on preventive patrols to handle critical points, intersections left without working signals and other potential hazards on the roadway. Several crossings operated without traffic lights, causing congestion and forcing drivers to take extra precautions.

Outages and Water Pressure Problems on Cozumel

On Cozumel, rain and electrical activity caused outages and voltage fluctuations in several neighborhoods, which in turn briefly affected drinking water pressure after pumping systems were disrupted, according to residents.

Fabián Ortega, a resident of the San Miguel 1 neighborhood, said the service failed repeatedly during the downpour. Similar reports came from residents of Centro, Independencia, Flores Magón, San Miguel and parts of the island’s southern zone.

Beyond the outages, users voiced concern about voltage swings and possible damage to electrical equipment left plugged in during periods of instability and when power was restored. The temporary interruption of pumping equipment was also cited as a cause of lower water pressure in some areas during the storm.

Power Fails Four Times in Lázaro Cárdenas

The day’s most serious disruption in Lázaro Cárdenas hit around 2 p.m., when an intense electrical storm caused power failures on at least four occasions, along with severe voltage drops lasting between five and 10 minutes.

Faced with the risk, residents unplugged their appliances to prevent damage from repeated voltage swings as service returned. Despite a temporary break in the rain for much of the day, overcast skies lingered until nightfall.

More Rain Forecast for Sunday and Monday

A powerful tropical wave with heavy rain and electrical activity will cross Playa del Carmen on Sunday, and officials urged residents to take precautions, said Antonio Morales Ocaña, a meteorologist with the municipal Civil Protection Department.

The system was located to the west, moving at 19 kilometers per hour, with its axis stretching from Haiti to the border between Venezuela and Colombia and scattered cloud cover, he said. It is expected to affect Quintana Roo through Sunday and Monday.

The forecast for the next 24 hours in Playa del Carmen calls for hot daytime conditions and slightly cooler temperatures at night and at dawn, with cloudy skies in the morning and isolated showers. Cloud cover is expected to build in the afternoon with scattered showers in the western part of the municipality that could bring electrical activity, along with moderate northeast winds of 15 to 25 kilometers per hour.