as gilbert lashed the third largest city of mexico, monterrey, it brought very high winds, torrential rains, and extensive flash floods. more than 60 people died from raging flood waters, and it was feared that more than 150 people died when five buses carrying evacuees were overturned in the raging floodwaters. six policemen died when they were swept away while trying to rescue passengers on buses stranded by the santa catarina river. the residents of monterrey had no power or drinking water, and most telephone lines were down. as the water receded, vehicles began appearing with their wheels up, jammed with mud and rocks. quintana roo governor miguel borje reported that damages in cancún were estimated at more than 1.3 billion mexican pesos (1988 pesos; $500 million in usd). more than 5,000 american tourists were evacuated from cancún. in saltillo, five people died in road accidents caused by heavy rain, and almost 1,000 were left homeless. rainfall in northeastern mexico peaked at over in localized areas of inland tamaulipas. in coahuila, rainfall from gilbert caused the deaths of 5 people who were swept away by rising waters. among these were a paramedic and a pregnant woman who died when a mexican red cross ambulance fell into a flooded arroyo near los chorros after a bridge collapsed. gilbert dumped torrential rains and spawned some tornadoes. in quintana roo, gilbert caused significant defoliation in the jungle. the debris eventually fueled a fire in 1989, which ultimately burned .