Death toll rises in Mexico storms

Story highlights

68 people are still missing

Damage is widespread

Thousands were trapped in Acapulco

CNN  — 

The death toll from several storms that hit Mexico this week rose to 101, authorities said late Friday.

An additional 68 people are still missing after storms ravaged the area, the nation’s Interior Ministry said.

At one point this week, Mexico seemed to be pummeled from all sides by then-Hurricane Manuel and the remnants of Hurricane Ingrid.

Some 24 states in the country had been impacted by storm damage, the Interior Ministry said.

And the bad news, forecasters say, is that heavy rains could continue through the end of the month.

Trapped in Paradise

One area battered by rain was the tourist destination of Acapulco on the Pacific coast. Manuel had left about 40,000 tourists stranded in Acapulco. As of Thursday, more than 10,000 were able to board military or commercial flights out of the storm-ravaged area. On Friday, some good news was delivered to trapped tourists.

Four ships arrived with 125 tons of groceries and nine tons of medical oxygen, the Interior Ministry said. But it may be some time, officials said, before Acapulco International Airport is fully functional.