Petróleos Mexicanos, coordinating with the Government of the State of Oaxaca and the Salina Cruz Council, as well as with the Army and the Navy, has provided support to the population during this emergency.
Civil Protection officials evacuated 3,000 residents from homes near the refinery, with the purpose to prevent them from being exposed to the smoke.
State health authorities issued a warning to residents to avoid skin contact with the rainwater.
The fire was extinguished the following day.

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One Premex firefighter died. Nine were injured.
Residents reported black rain that caused irritation to the eyes.

Black rain painted streets, vehicles and buildings black.

Panic among many people, some of whom fled the city.

The overflow of water with crude petrol residue from the waste container sumps is a quite frequent and well-known event. This fact highlights the need to improve the design of those systems, especially for industrial installations erected in areas with flood risk.

The need for flood risk assessment is a priority for hazardous installations, especially for oil refineries. Vulnerable equipment units and electrical components should always be built well above the expected flood level.

The civilian victims can react uncontrollably, when in panic. One important task for public forces is to correctly inform citizens during such emergency situations.

Pemex had not cleared nearby rivers of trash and debris. This fact could have increased the water level during the flood and the flood severity at the site.

All the persons injured or killed were firefighters.
Any means should be adopted to preserve first responders health. These include both the hazards due to the technological accident and those due to the natural disaster.