Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, July 16, 2026 — Mexican Army crews are clearing drainage channels and runoff routes across Puerto Vallarta after municipal records showed that the city’s initial flood-prevention program was nearing completion, but recurring blockages were already creating new problems once the rains began.
Personnel from the 41st Military Zone are removing mud, garbage, and other debris from channels, waterways, and runoff areas considered vulnerable to flooding. The military zone is commanded by Brigadier General Isaac Bravo López, whose assignment in Puerto Vallarta is listed in the Defense Secretariat’s directory of military zones.
The military work follows a municipal clearing program that began March 17 and was originally scheduled to conclude June 30. Puerto Vallarta’s infrastructure director told council members on June 9 that the city had completed roughly 85.5 percent of its planned desilting work, with four simultaneous crews operating in different parts of the municipality.
The official minutes from that council meeting identify several drainage routes that carry water from higher neighborhoods toward the city’s lower and more developed areas.
The Francisco Villa channel receives runoff from elevated neighborhoods, including Gaviotas and El Calvario, before carrying it toward the Pitillal River. The Los Tules channel drains sections of the North Hotel Zone and the area surrounding Plaza Caracol, while the La Vena channel crosses major roads before emptying near the hotel district. Arroyo de los Camarones, which runs near Centro, is monitored for sudden flooding during heavy rainfall.
Those channels can become blocked again even after scheduled cleaning is complete. During the June meeting, the infrastructure director said an early-season flood near the Sheraton area had been traced to a blockage that municipal machinery cleared within minutes.
The city has also encountered sand accumulating at river and stream outlets during high tides and periods of elevated surf. Those sandbars can prevent water from reaching the bay, requiring excavators to reopen an outlet while runoff continues arriving from the mountains.
Garbage, discarded household items, vegetation and illegally dumped construction waste were also identified as continuing sources of obstruction. That means some channels require repeated attention rather than a single cleaning before the rainy season.
When Puerto Vallarta’s Municipal Civil Protection Council began its permanent rainy-season session in May, officials identified at least 26 recurring street-flooding points and 12 areas where rivers, streams or channels could overflow.
The risk became visible early in the season. A June storm flooded lanes and slowed traffic along Federal Highway 200, while runoff and fallen trees caused problems in several parts of the city. Puerto Vallarta had already entered the season with officials warning of above-normal rainfall and a potentially active Pacific cyclone season.
The Army’s involvement provides additional personnel at a point when newly deposited mud, vegetation and garbage can reduce the capacity of channels that were cleared earlier in the year.
