Coastal Roads Washed Out In Baja California, Four Drivers Missing, Mudslides Bury Highway, Traffic Halted

Tijuana, Mexico— Mudslides washed away coastal roads in Baja California on October 31, 2026, leaving four drivers reported missing after their vehicles were buried or swept off the highway.

The mudslides were triggered by two days of intense Pacific rain that hit the peninsula. The hardest-hit stretch was Highway 1 between Rosarito and Ensenada. The road hugs cliffs and canyons. When it rains hard, those cliffs collapse. This time, multiple sections collapsed at once.

State civil protection said four drivers were missing as of 4 p.m. Two were last seen in a white pickup near La Mision. The truck was found half buried. The cab was empty. Another was in a sedan that was pushed off the road near Salsipuedes. A fourth was a delivery driver whose route included the coast.

The highway was gone in places. In one section near El Sauzal, 100 meters of asphalt was washed into the sea. In another, mud piled 3 meters high. The mud was thick, mixed with rocks and burned brush from last year’s fires. It moved like wet concrete.

Traffic was stopped in both directions. More than 500 vehicles were stranded. Some were tour buses with U.S. tourists returning from Ensenada. Drivers slept in their cars. No fuel. No food. One driver said he had been stuck for 12 hours with a baby in the back seat.

Rescue teams used drones to look for vehicles under the mud. They spotted two roof tops. Excavators were brought in but could only work from one side because the road behind them was also gone. A state official said they were digging blind. They did not know if drivers were still inside.

The state government opened shelters in Rosarito and Ensenada for stranded motorists. It said 200 people were inside. Water and power were out in several canyon neighborhoods. Families used buckets to clear mud from homes that had flooded overnight.

Meteorologists said the rain was caused by a slow-moving trough tapping warm Pacific moisture. It stalled over Baja. More than 130 millimeters fell in Ensenada. The city’s drainage is poor. New housing built in streambeds made flooding worse.

By nightfall, the four drivers were still missing. The highway remained closed. Officials said it could take days to reopen. Rain had stopped but slopes were still saturated.