VERACRUZ, Mexico – At least 90 oil and gas wells in the southeastern coastal states of Veracruz and Tabasco have been shut down due to flooding, state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said.

Pemex executive Fernando Flores Rivera, whose office is in charge of 241 wells in the area, said production dropped by more than 56 percent, falling from 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 26,280 bpd.

Heavy rains from a cold front flooded dozens of oil wells and access roads, making it impossible for 1,500 Pemex workers to reach work sites.

Around 90 percent of pumping stations are paralyzed, affecting the La Cangrejera and Pajaritos petrochemical facilities in the southern Veracruz port of Coatzacoalcos, Pemex said.

Two Pemex helicopters began transporting workers on Friday to wells that had not been flooded so they could restart oil and gas production.

There are no production problems at the fields in Nanchital, where output totals some 40,000 bpd, Flores said.

Torrential rains and floods hit 11 cities in Veracruz, affecting at least 18,000 people, forcing 1,500 others into shelters and causing structural damage to about 20,000 dwellings.

In Tabasco state, which is farther south, communities in the municipalities of Cardenas and Huimanguillo remain cut off due to flooding that washed out roads.

Gov. Andres Granier Melo said the flooding in Tabasco “is a reality” that requires full attention and federal government assistance.

A total of 21 health teams have been sent to Cardenas and Huimanguillo to help prevent the spread of skin and respiratory diseases, Granier Melo said.

Ranchers warned that they could lose 2,000 head of cattle due to lack of feed and damage to pastures. EFE