A flood-warning network bought by Veracruz state for 720 million pesos (about €37 million) told residents that rivers were stable as floodwater entered homes last week, according to a preliminary inspection released on Sunday. The report says just 164 of 2,400 promised sensors were physically installed. Authorities are now investigating how the supplier was paid for equipment that could not measure the rising water.
The failure came during nine hours of intense rain on 19 October, when a gauge near the Jamapa River recorded 318 millimetres (12.5 inches) of rainfall. State officials say 6,400 people moved to temporary shelters and water entered about 2,700 homes. Residents received an “all clear” at 02:10, even though the river had passed its danger mark half an hour earlier.
The figures stop adding up
The inspection, prompted by the storm, found that only 23 installed sensors were transmitting live readings. Another 1,876 entries on the supplier’s dashboard were listed as virtual units, while the rest of the promised equipment could not be located in the field. Procurement records show the state paid most of the contract value before a final installation check.
The contract went to Vela Norte Sistemas, a young technology company whose chief executive, Eliza Halmor, had promised a proprietary network that could warn of dangerous rises up to 75 minutes ahead. The inspection team compared its system logs with river-gauge records and found that 1,876 virtual units sent identical “stable” readings during the storm. “The dashboard was not measuring rivers; it was repeating a rehearsal,” said Amelia Pantoja, a water-engineering specialist who reviewed the published findings.
The dashboard was not measuring rivers; it was repeating a rehearsal.
Amelia Pantoja, water-engineering specialist
Halmor said in a radio interview on Monday that the network had been “operational within the limits of the contract” and that floodwater disrupted communications at several sites. But the all-clear was issued before the heaviest rain, and the inspection says the virtual units were registered to a server outside Veracruz. The company has requested a technical review and says it will provide installation records.
Payments face a political test
The state comptroller’s office has frozen a remaining payment of 190 million pesos (about €9.8 million) and referred the contract to prosecutors for review. It has not announced charges. Tatiana Stroe, an opposition deputy in the state legislature, said lawmakers should hold a public hearing and ask why officials accepted dashboard counts as proof of installation.
The purchase was approved in 2024 under a fast-track programme for flood-prone river basins. Vela Norte’s sales presentation promised one central platform for alerts across 18 basins, but the contract’s delivery schedule allowed payment in stages before every sensor was checked on site. Magda Hussain, who lives near the river, said her household relied on a neighbour’s warning after the official message arrived.
“We were watching the water climb and the phone still said everything was fine,” Hussain said. State officials have since ordered local crews to use manual river checks and phone calls while the network is assessed. The legislature’s public works committee is due to set a hearing date this week, and the comptroller says its final findings are expected by 20 November.
