POZA RICA, Mexico — The stench of decay spread for several miles around Poza Rica on Wednesday, one of the areas hardest hit by last week’s torrential rains that flooded central and eastern Mexico.

In the center of this oil-producing city near the Gulf of Mexico, a lingering cloud of dust hovered over the main avenue where soldiers worked nonstop. Farther east, near the Cazones River — which overflowed on Friday — several streets still lay under 3 feet (1 meter) of water and mud, topped by another 6 feet (2 meters) of piled-up trash, furniture, and debris.

“A week later, this looks horrible — worse. You can’t even cross the street,” lamented Ana Luz Saucedo, who fled with her children when the water came rushing in “like the sea.”

Now she fears infection because, in addition to the garb

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