The Story and Its Reach
This piece connects two different yet profoundly linked realities: the October 2025 floods in Poza Rica, Veracruz (Mexico) and the way the Netherlands, a nation largely built by human design, would endure a similar event.
It also looks ahead to the geological future of a country where much of the land exists only because of human perseverance against water.
The narrative draws from verified meteorological data, hydrological principles, and a human reflection on resilience, control, and coexistence with natural forces.
The 2025 Poza Rica Floods
From 9 to 11 October 2025, heavy rain drenched Poza Rica as a tropical disturbance named 90E interacted with a low-pressure trough over the Gulf of Mexico.
More than 200 to 300 millimetres of rainfall overwhelmed the Cazones River, flooding urban areas and cutting off roads.
At 16:00 local time (23:00 in the Netherlands) on 10 October, CONAGUA (National Water Commission of Mexico) reported the river had fallen to 2.5 metres below its Maximum Ordinary Water Level (NAMO) after earlier reaching 43–46 metres at peak stage.
Electricity was cut in several neighbourhoods to prevent electrocution.
By 8:10 a.m. on 11 October in the Netherlands (1:10 a.m. local time in Poza Rica), officials confirmed that the emergency was under control and recovery had begun.
The event left two confirmed fatalities, displaced roughly 900 people, and damaged about 5,000 homes.
Authorities and Civil Protection coordinated relief operations throughout the weekend.
Disturbance 90E
Disturbance 90E, or Invest 90E, was the meteorological system responsible for the downpour.
The designation “Invest” (short for investigative area) is assigned by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to areas under observation for potential cyclone development.
The number “90” marks its sequence, and “E” indicates its location in the Eastern Pacific basin.
Although 90E never became a tropical storm, it carried significant humidity across southern Mexico into the Gulf region.
The resulting atmospheric interaction caused persistent, torrential rainfall over Veracruz between 9 and 11 October 2025, pushing the Cazones River beyond its limits.
Verification and Meteorological Context
Independent reports from Associated Press, Reuters, and Veracruz Civil Protection confirmed CONAGUA’s data.
Different readings of the river’s peak—43.5 versus 46 metres—reflect measurement at separate gauging sites, but all sources agreed that levels dropped steadily by the night of 10 October.
The cause was identified as a slow-moving tropical disturbance, not a full cyclone.
By 8:10 a.m. (Amsterdam time) on 11 October 2025, both local and federal authorities declared the flood crisis contained, shifting to recovery and infrastructure repair.
If It Happened in the Netherlands
If a comparable 300 mm of rain were to fall within 24 hours in the Netherlands, local flooding would occur, but a large-scale disaster would likely be avoided.
The Dutch system of dykes, storm surge barriers, polders (reclaimed land), and pump stations—managed by regional water boards (waterschappen, meaning “water authorities” in Dutch)—forms one of the most advanced water-control networks in the world.
Basements and streets could flood temporarily, but fatalities would be unlikely.
Power interruptions and transport delays might occur, yet the system is specifically built to withstand extreme precipitation events.
Quantitative View
Using a runoff coefficient (the fraction of rainfall becoming surface runoff) of 0.6 for urban terrain:
- Every 1 km² would generate ≈ 180,000 m³ of runoff water.
- Pumping requirements:
- 6 hours: ~8.3 m³/s per km²
- 12 hours: ~4.2 m³/s per km²
- 24 hours: ~2.1 m³/s per km²
A 10 km² district would thus require about 42 m³/s pumping capacity.
Existing Dutch infrastructure could meet this demand, though shallow standing water (10–30 cm) could persist during peak inflow.
When combined with high tide, pumps would temporarily pause, diverting water into retention basins until sea gates reopened.
This engineered rhythm exemplifies how Dutch systems integrate mechanical precision with natural cycles.
The Netherlands: A Nation Between Land and Sea
The Netherlands covers about 41,500 km², including inland waters.
Roughly 55–60 percent of its area consists of natural uplands, while 40–45 percent is reclaimed polder land, kept habitable through continuous maintenance and pumping.
Regions such as Flevoland, Beemster, and Haarlemmermeer are notable examples of human-engineered landscapes lying 1–6 metres below sea level.
During the Pleistocene epoch (100,000–10,000 years ago), the area now called the Netherlands formed part of Doggerland, a vast plain connecting Britain to continental Europe.
As ice melted and seas rose, Doggerland disappeared beneath the North Sea—proof that landscapes shift over time and human settlements are fleeting arrangements within geological history.
By 2100, relative sea-level rise in the Netherlands could reach 0.5–1.2 metres, combining ocean expansion and land subsidence.
The Delta 2100 programme seeks to adapt infrastructure to this long-term change.
Over millions of years, tectonic drift will reshape Europe’s coastlines, folding the North Sea basin and erasing the outlines of modern nations.
The Netherlands, a country largely built by people, reminds us that permanence is an illusion: the balance between water and land must be renewed every day.
Entities and Roles
- Poza Rica – City in Veracruz affected by the 2025 floods.
- Cazones River – River that overflowed.
- CONAGUA (National Water Commission of Mexico) – Issued official hydrological reports.
- Civil Protection of Veracruz – Led emergency coordination.
- Governor of Veracruz – Announced stabilization of water levels.
- Associated Press / Reuters – Verified media coverage.
- Waterschappen (Dutch water boards) – Regional authorities managing dykes and pumps.
- Deltares Institute – Dutch research organization for flood prevention.
- Doggerland – Prehistoric landmass beneath the North Sea.
- National Hurricane Center (NHC) – U.S. agency tracking Disturbance 90E.
escorrentía
Definition: The portion of rainfall that flows across the surface instead of infiltrating the soil, eventually feeding rivers and drains.
Origin: From Spanish escurrir (“to drain”); equivalent English term: runoff.
Scientific acceptance: Standard term in hydrology and environmental engineering.
Key Insights
- The Poza Rica floods of 2025 demonstrate how sustained tropical rainfall can create major disasters even without a named storm.
- The Dutch water management model illustrates how decades of design and investment transform exposure into resilience.
- Around 40 percent of Dutch territory is man-made, protected daily by pumps and dykes.
- Over geological time, both Mexico’s floodplains and the Netherlands’ polders show that humanity’s mastery over water is always conditional—earned but never permanent.
Sources
- https://car.blog/2025/10/11/2025-10-11-how-the-cazones-river-fell-the-october-2025-poza-rica-floods-weather-shifts-and-official-response/ — Blog analysis of the October 2025 Poza Rica floods (translated from Spanish).
- https://apnews.com/article/mexico-veracruz-floods-october-2025 — Associated Press report confirming fatalities and damage.
- https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-floods-veracruz-cazones-river-october-2025 — Reuters coverage on flooding in eastern Mexico.
- https://www.gob.mx/conagua — Official CONAGUA hydrological bulletins and river data.
- https://www.nhc.noaa.gov — National Hurricane Center records for Disturbance 90E.
- https://www.deltares.nl/en/projects/delta-programme-2100 — Deltares research on Dutch long-term water protection.
- https://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl — Dutch government information on dykes, barriers, and infrastructure.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 