Twin Pacific Storms Slam Baja California, Mudslides Bury Roads, Five Reported Missing After Midnight

Ensenada, Mexico— Twin Pacific coastal storms triggered sudden mudslides in Baja California on October 31, 2026, leaving five people reported missing and cutting off highways along the coast.

The storms came back-to-back overnight. The first brought heavy rain to the Tijuana-Ensenada corridor. The second hit harder south near San Quintin. Soil gave way. Hillsides that had burned in last year’s wildfires had no roots to hold. Mud ran like rivers.

State civil protection said five people were missing by early afternoon. Three were in a pickup that was swept off Highway 1 near Santo Tomas. Two were in a small settlement above Ensenada where a slope collapsed onto two homes. Names were not released. Search teams were deployed but could not reach both sites.

Rainfall totals were extreme for the region. More than 120 millimeters fell in six hours in some stations. That is months of rain in one night for Baja. The ground could not absorb it. Water pooled behind debris, then broke loose.

Highway 1 was closed in three segments. The main north-south link was blocked by mud 2 meters deep in places. Trucks were lined up for kilometers. Drivers slept in cabs. The state said heavy equipment was moving but slides kept coming. One bulldozer was itself trapped.

In Ensenada, neighborhoods built on steep canyons flooded. Water mixed with mud and sewage. Residents used buckets to bail out living rooms. A woman said her kitchen wall cracked at 3 a.m. She grabbed her children and ran. Her neighbor’s house is gone.

Governor’s office said shelters were opened in Ensenada and Rosarito. About 400 people were inside by noon. Power was out for 12,000 customers. Water service was interrupted because pump stations were clogged. Schools were shut for the day.

Meteorologists said the twin systems were not hurricanes but moist Pacific lows feeding off unusually warm sea surface temperatures. They merged off the coast, then stalled. That stalling is what dumped so much rain on one strip.

By evening, rain had eased but danger remained. Hillsides were still saturated. More slides were expected. Officials told people to stay off roads and away from canyons.