The Rainy Season In Mexico: Essential Tips for Expats and Travelers
Lasting from May to September, the rainy season in Mexico can be a breath of fresh air after months of heat and dryness. However, during this time of rainfall, it’s also essential for expats and travelers to know some tips for road safety and general housekeeping methods.
In this blog post by Pacific Prime Latin America, we will discuss some essential tips to ensure the safety and health of expats and travelers during the rainy season in Mexico.
Introduction: The Rainy Season in Mexico
The rainy season in Mexico lasts from May or June, running all the way to October each year and sometimes carrying into November.
While showers are short spurts in the mid-afternoon followed by sunny stretches, it’s worth noting that the wet season does also coincide with the hurricane season (May-November) and the highest risk is between September and October.
An approaching thunderstorm is usually obvious as the air temperature drops and the wind suddenly picks up, followed by rumbling thunder accompanied by visible lightning bolts amidst the dark rain clouds.
Sometimes, rain clouds that have not shed any moisture for hours can also suddenly pour down with rain in a matter of minutes. So, if you wish to take an afternoon walk or you’re driving on an otherwise dry pavement, be aware of this sudden change.
Issues to Look Out for During the Rainy Season in Mexico
While refreshing after months of dryness or heat, there are certain issues to look out for such as flooding and structural damage, mosquito infestations, or power cuts at home. Below are the different issues during the rainy season in Mexico that expats and travelers should be mindful of.
Roof Flooding
One issue to look out for is roof flooding. Since most homes in Mexico have flat roofs, regularly check the roof of your house, condo, or apartment complex and make sure they are clear of any debris, branches, or leaves that may block drainage channels and cause water pools to accumulate on your roof space.
Mosquitoes
And while we’re on the subject of water pool accumulation, mosquitos proliferate during the rainy season as females need a combination of moisture and iron and protein from animal blood in order to breed.
Mosquito bites can spread diseases, the most common of which are dengue and malaria. Other viruses that can spread from mosquitoes to humans upon biting are the Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus.
Since you’re already cleaning out debris or leaves from your property, make sure that you also don’t have any stagnant pools of water hanging around as these provide breeding spots for mosquitoes.
Flooding and Structural Damage
The intensity of the rainy season in Mexico can cause flooding in your home or on the road, the latter of which can make driving conditions incredibly problematic. In severe cases, colossal amounts of rainfall can not only cause a flood, but also landslides.
Floods can damage homes in many ways such as causing mold growth to loosening floorboards and increasing the risk of electrocution due to coming into contact with certain electrical appliances.
Appliances such as ventilation and air conditioning or refrigerators and heaters can also get severely damaged from the flood and stored food may also get spoiled due to lack of refrigeration resulting from power cuts or from coming into contact with the contaminated floor water.
On the other hand, floods can damage your vehicle’s electronics, lubricants, and mechanical systems. While problems may not manifest for months to years, corrosion resulting from the flood can eventually affect the vehicle’s vital electronics such as airbag controllers.
Some possible warning signs of flood damage in your vehicle include musty odors inside, short-circuiting wires and malfunctioning dashboard lights, or malfunctioning anti-lock-braking systems. Due to the previously mentioned warning signs of flood damage in your vehicle, most flood damaged vehicles are considered dangerous and no longer suitable for usage.
Home and vehicle damage is one of the biggest issues to look out for during floods. For further reading on how floods affect homes and vehicles, as well as the importance of car and home insurance, check out this article from Pacific Prime Dubai below.
Dubai Flooded: The Importance of Car and Home Insurance
Problematic Driving Conditions
Beyond vehicular damage, the flooding can also be incredibly problematic for driving. While most major highways in Mexico have drainage systems, it’s advisable to look for areas with water build-up. Such areas with water build-up could include long or winding bends where the road topography doesn’t lend itself to immediate drainage.
Additionally, it’s not uncommon for certain drivers to not regulate their driving speed during rainstorms, which is why you should be especially mindful. Tires can easily lose contact on wet pavement at merely 35 miles per hour. It’s also a good idea to check your tire treads as balding tires can cause potentially dangerous skidding during rainstorms.
In cities, the rainstorm can also cause power cuts, which may cause traffic light systems to falter and cause traffic jams. Additionally, in severe cases, rainstorms can also cause powerlines to fall over and block the road for some time until emergency services arrive.
While traffic disruptions from malfunctioning traffic lights or falling powerlines are unavoidable, you can practice driving safety by driving at the right speed (at least 5-10 miles slower) so that your car doesn’t lose control due to wet, slippery pavement. Keeping track of weather expectancies through forecasts can also help you practice proper driving safety when driving during rainy hours.
Power Cuts
Speaking of power cuts, this is another common issue resulting from thunderstorms in the rainy season. Previously, we mentioned that some cases of rainstorm-induced power cuts can affect the railroad system or cause powerlines to fall over and affect traffic.
Rainstorms can also knock over trees and fall onto certain powerlines, causing the power in the area to go out for several minutes to a few hours. In severe cases, rainstorms can also cause power cuts that last for days when lightning strikes a major sub-station or local transformer.
If it’s common for your area to experience power cuts during the rainy season, and you’ve regularly checked the forecast, one thing you can do to prepare for power cuts at your home, condo, or apartment is to prepare water for showering beforehand.
Let’s say you’re taking a shower and suddenly the power goes out, in addition to the aforementioned water you prepared beforehand, you can also prepare additional light sources such as flashlights at easily reachable locations so you can avoid unnecessary injuries in the dark if the power goes out at nighttime.
Conclusion
While the rainy season can be a time of refreshment, away from the heat and dryness, it is not without safety concerns and other issues to look out for. While certain issues such as power cuts are unavoidable, others such as driving safety or stagnant water pools and debris flooding your property can be avoided.
By staying mindful of the weather by following forecasts, practicing driving safety, and regularly cleaning your property to get rid of debris and stagnant water pools, you can effortlessly avoid the issues resulting from the rainy season in Mexico and enjoy your time abroad.
While certain issues resulting from the rainy season such as power outage or uncontrollable traffic blockages due to severe rainstorms are unavoidable, you can still craft a safety net with a health insurance plan.
As an experienced international health insurance broker, Pacific Prime Latin America has helped both expats and locals find a health insurance plan that not only ticks the boxes for their budget range, but also their unique healthcare needs.
Whether you’re an expat living in Mexico or you’re a traveler looking to spend quality time with your family, our team of specialists will be more than happy to help you craft a safety net with the right health insurance plan for your stay in Mexico. What’s more, we can also go the extra mile by offering you impartial advice with no additional cost.
In the face of structural or property damage resulting from severe thunderstorms, we can also help you find and secure adequate P&C insurance to guarantee financial security
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us and get a free quote here for plan comparisons.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts, Media & Communication major (concentration: Creative Content) from Mahidol University International College (MUIC). During the compulsory major elective period in the summer of 2021 and voluntarily during the summer of 2022, he also interned as a video and photo editor at Mbrella Films.
He has experience working as an English Content Writer at a real estate buying/renting/selling platform in Thonglor. There, he crafted company blog posts on a multitude of topics. Topics include market trends, legal issues and disputes in property businesses, financial guides, expat guides, home insurance, home decoration and maintenance, and weekly real estate news quick-recaps. Occasionally, as part of the blog-writing process, he would also translate existing Thai blogs to English.
In his free time, Guy enjoys doing scriptwriting and storytelling for comic strips, watching movies, and listening to music (particularly film scores).
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