Hurricane Hits Mexico, Killing Scores, Others Missing
At least 27 people were killed by Hurricane Otis, which made landfall on Mexico pacific coast on Wednesday.
Secretary of State for Security Rosa Icela Rodríguez said four more people have been reported missing.
Acapulco was among the areas worst hit with 80% of the resort’s hotels damaged and streets flooded.
The Mexican president travelled to the city by land and at one point had to get out of his car and walk as debris from a mudslide blocked the highway.
With landlines and mobile phone coverage disrupted for more than 24 hours, it took officials until Thursday morning to release the death toll.
The Ministry of Defense said 8,000 soldiers had been deployed to Acapulco and towns along the coast to help with the clear-up and provide residents with food and water.
Hurricane Otis made landfall at 00:25 local time (06:25 GMT) on Wednesday. It had intensified from a tropical storm into a category five hurricane – the most severe category – in just 12 hours.
It brought winds of 165 miles per hour (265km/h) to the coastal areas before easing in strength.
On Tuesday, Otis took many by surprise when it rapidly strengthened from a tropical storm to a powerful Category 5 as it tore along the coast.
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“It’s one thing to have a Category 5 hurricane make landfall somewhere when you’re expecting it or expecting a strong hurricane, but to have it happen when you’re not expecting anything to happen is truly a nightmare,” said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.
The hurricane center said in an advisory released late Tuesday night that Otis “explosively intensified” about 110 mph over a 24-hour span, a mark only exceeded in modern times by Hurricane Patricia in 2015. At the time, forecasters added, “There are no hurricanes on record even close to this intensity for this part of Mexico.”
Hurricane Patricia also hit Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 5 storm when it made landfall in October 2015, bringing strong winds, rain and some landslides to cities like Puerto Vallarta, a resort hub and popular tourist spot, as well as the picturesque fishing town of Manzanillo. The storm did not cause major infrastructural damage.
Acapulco is at the foot of steep mountains. Luxury homes and slums alike cover the hillsides with views of the glistening Pacific Ocean. Once drawing Hollywood stars for its nightlife, sport fishing and cliff diving shows, the port has in recent years fallen victim to competing organized crime groups that have sunk the city into violence, driving many international tourists to the Caribbean waters of Cancun and the Riviera Maya or beaches farther down the Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca.
López Obrador noted that Otis was a stronger hurricane than Pauline, which hit Acapulco in 1997, destroying swaths of the city and killing more than 300 people.
