Hurricane Otis, a category 5 storm with winds exceeding 250 kmh, has ravaged the Mexican resort city of Acapulco, leaving a trail of destruction and a communication blackout that has prevented authorities from assessing the full extent of the disaster. As dawn broke on Wednesday, photos and videos posted online showed mangled buildings, cars submerged in floodwaters, and a chaotic scene unfolding in the city.
The storm’s sudden intensification from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane, the highest warning level, caught locals and authorities off guard. “It’s the first time we’ve had a category 5 hurricane,” said Jorge Lozano Bello, 36, from Chilpancingo, a town near Acapulco. “At first, we thought it would be normal. But at 10 pm last night, we lost communication with Acapulco.”
People across Mexico anxiously awaited word from loved ones who had taken shelter in bathrooms as windows shattered and roofs were torn off houses. The loss of communications was due to damaged infrastructure and power cuts, with over 300,000 people still without electricity. Lozano, who runs the Facebook page Solo Acapulco, described the situation as “nightmarish,” with reports of dozens of houses flooded and many roofs torn off.
Storm shelters were opened, but the storm’s rapid intensification and the short time people had to prepare have raised fears of a significant number of casualties. “We’ve never seen such a quick change in a storm,” said Lozano. “People were caught off guard. We’ve seen videos of people taking shelter in buses while the windows are being shattered by the wind.”
Hurricane Otis AftermathMexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, reported no loss of life so far, but acknowledged that there was still “no communication” with the affected area. He is considering traveling to Acapulco later, if conditions permit, and has sent the armed forces to assist.
Acapulco’s mayor, Abel Murrieta, said that the city’s hospital was operational but severely damaged, leaving many injured without access to medical care. Meanwhile, tourists and delegates attending a mining conference in town when the hurricane struck remained uncertain about their fate.
Roughly 850,000 people live in Acapulco, and many smaller communities along the coast and inland were also in the hurricane’s path. Otis has since weakened to a tropical storm but could still bring flash floods and landslides to parts of Guerrero and Oaxaca over the next day.
Mexico is one of the countries most vulnerable to hurricanes due to its long coastlines on the Pacific and Atlantic. Climate scientists have warned that rapid intensification, such as what was seen with Otis, has been made more likely by climate change and warming oceans.
As the nation grapples with the aftermath of the disaster, many residents are left in a state of limbo, struggling to make contact with loved ones and waiting for news of the full extent of the devastation.