400-year-old church emerges from water after drought

A severe drought in Mexico has revealed a 400-year-old church that is almost intact despite decades of being submerged under water.

Drone footage shows the 16th-century church in the middle of the Benito Juarez Dam in Jalapa del Marquez, Oaxaca, on February 13, RT reported. Local fishermen and tour guides said the church was built to honor the Virgin Mary in the late 16th century.

"The shrine was built around 1550-1600 to honor the Virgin Mary, patron saint of the city of Santa María Jalapa de Márquez," said Oliveira.

Thanks to the church emerging in the middle of the Benito Juarez Dam. Photo: RT.

The church was flooded in 1962 during preparations for the dam, and partially resurfaces each year as reduced rainfall and rising temperatures lower the lake's water level. In 2008, a prolonged drought caused the church to fully resurface for the first time in nearly 50 years, according to La Silla Rota.

This year's severe drought has reduced the dam's water level to just 156 million cubic meters, just 16 percent of its normal volume, leaving the entire cathedral above water, according to Mexico's National Water Commission.

According to VNE