Debris Flow — Naguabo, Puerto Rico

2024-11-09 · near Naguabo, Naguabo, Puerto Rico

Event narrative

Extensive damage was reported at a home on St. 1, La Sierra, El Duque, Naguabo. This was due to a landslide triggered by heavy rains. No injuries were reported among the 5 residents of the home, including a child, an 88-year-old man, and a 78-year-old woman. The home showed badly damaged walls and columns, as well as a sinkhole in the floor. Emergency managers reported that the home and surrounding land are 5 feet deep from before the landslide.

Wider weather episode

A Flash Flood Watch was issued on the second weekend of November, mainly due to a tropical wave moving through the area and a lingering frontal boundary. Saturated soils and moderate to heavy rainfall helped increase the flood and debris flow threat. This tropical wave brought abundant moisture above typical November levels, along with instability, leading to thunderstorms with frequent lightning, strong, gusty winds, and breezy to windy conditions in parts of the islands. From November 9th to 11th, above 3 inches of rain were reported, across SW and N Puerto Rico, but mainly over SE Puerto Rico and Vieques, (with some stations reporting 5 to 6.69 inches in those areas).

View location on OpenStreetMap → (18.2449, -65.7468)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1221870. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.