The smell of rot spread for several miles around Poza Rica, one of the towns hardest hit by torrential rains that flooded central and eastern Mexico last week.

The center of this oil town on the Gulf of Mexico remained covered in mud, and residents worked tirelessly to clean it up.

Near the Cazones River, which overflowed on Friday, several streets remain under water and mud, littered with trash, furniture, and debris.

"It looked like there wouldn't be any flooding, but suddenly it overflowed and began to rise very rapidly,” recalled Aline Martinez as she tried to salvage what she could from her home.

The damage caused by last week's rains continues to mount.

As of Tuesday, according to official figures, at least 66 people were reported dead, but the number of missing persons continues to rise and now stands at 75.

191 towns are still cut off, most of them in the state of Hidalgo, in a mountainous area in the center of the country where helicopters are having trouble flying due to constant cloud cover.

But there are residents such as Silvestre Rivera who believe that local authorities could have done more.

"What people really want is help, and now, thank God, help is coming from the government," he said. "But the municipal authorities here, who are our own people, haven’t lifted a finger.”

The emergency deployment of soldiers, marines, and civilian teams continued in the worst affected states.

Meanwhile, authorities continue to work on restoring dozens of roads that remain blocked, as well as electricity, while also monitoring the condition of dams, many of which are at maximum capacity.

AP video by Felix Márquez