Hurricane Otis winds blast through Acapulco hospital after storm makes landfall in Mexico
A day after Hurricane Otis roared ashore in Acapulco, unleashing massive rains, the resort city of nearly one million still remains almost entirely cut off with the death toll uncertain.
Otis slammed into Mexico on Wednesday morning as the strongest storm to land on the country’s west coast, descending the city into chaos, setting off looting and leaving destruction and power outages in its wake.
The images and accounts were of extensive devastation, toppled trees and power lines lying in brown floodwaters that in some areas extended for miles.
Many of the once sleek beachfront hotels in Acapulco looked like shattered hulks a day after the Category 5 storm blew out hundreds — and possibly thousands — of windows.
Otis went from a Category 1 to a Category 5 storm in only 12 hours — the fastest rate ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The storm had lost strength by Wednesday afternoon and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved past the Guerrero state. But soon after a 4.4-magnitude earthquake shook a resort town just 120 miles north of Acapulco.
Why did Hurricane Otis rapidly intensify into a Category 5 overnight?
Hurricane Otis slammed into Mexico early on Wednesday as the strongest-ever storm to make landfall on the country’s west coast.
Otis went from a Category 1 to Category 5 hurricane in only 12 hours — the fastest rate ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the eye of Otis made landfall close to the resort town of Acapulco around 12.25am local time with winds of 165mph. Forecasters described it as “a nightmare scenario” for southern Mexico.
The storm is tracking north through the country and is expected to dump five to 10 inches (13-25cm) of rain on Guerrero state with as much as 15 inches (38cm) possible in some areas. That raised the possibility of mudslides and flashfloods in Guerrero’s steep mountainous terrain.
Martha Mchardy26 October 2023 11:00
Residents express anger as stores looted and rescue efforts remain slow
With assessment of damages and loss of life still unknown from Hurricane Ortis, there seemed to be a widespread frustration with authorities in Acapulco which has been left completely devastated after the storm.
While some 10,000 military troops were deployed to the area, they lacked the tools to clean tons of mud and fallen trees from the streets, the Associated Press reported.
Hundreds of trucks from the government electricity company arrived in Acapulco early on Wednesday, but seemed at a loss as to how to restore power, with downed electricity lines lying in feet of mud and water.
Pablo Navarro, an auto parts worker who was lodged in temporary accommodations at a beach front hotel, told the agency that he stood outside a discount grocery and household goods store near the hotel zone, as hundreds of people wrestled everything from packs of hot dogs and toilet paper to flat screen TVs out of the muddy store, struggling to push loaded metal shopping carts onto the mud-choked streets outside.
“This is out of control,” he said.
Isabel de la Cruz, a resident of Acapulco, tried to move a shopping cart loaded with diapers, instant noodles and toilet paper through the mud.
She viewed what she took as a chance to help her family after she lost the tin roof of her home and her family’s important documents in the hurricane.
“When is the government ever going to look after the common people?” she said.
Inside one store, National Guard officers allowed looters to take perishable items like food, but made futile efforts to prevent people from taking appliances, even as people outside loaded refrigerators on top of taxis.
Stuti Mishra26 October 2023 10:29
Death toll from Hurricane Ortis still unknown
A day after Hurricane Ortis made landfall in Mexico’s Acapulco, unleashing heavy rains and leaving residents without electricity or internet service, the death toll still remains uncertain.
It took nearly all day Wednesday for authorities to partially reopen the main highway connecting Acapulco to the state capital Chilpancingo and Mexico City. The vital ground link allowed dozens of emergency vehicles, personnel and trucks carrying supplies to reach the battered port.
Acapulco’s commercial and military airports were still too badly damaged to resume flights.
On Wednesday night the city plunged into darkness. There was no phone service, but some people were able to use satellite phones loaned by the Red Cross to let family members know they were OK.
Stuti Mishra26 October 2023 09:29
‘We laid down on the floor’: Survivors describe horror as Acapulco residents left in flooded and windblown chaos
A day after Hurricane Otis roared ashore in Acapulco, unleashing massive floods and setting off looting, the resort city of nearly one million descended into chaos.
The early images and accounts were of extensive devastation, toppled trees and power lines lying in brown floodwaters that in some areas extended for miles.
Jakob Sauczuk was staying with a group of friends at a beachfront hotel when Otis hit. “We laid down on the floor, and some between beds,” Mr Sauczuk said. “We prayed a lot.”
One of his friends showed reporters photos of the windowless, shattered rooms in the hotel. It looked as if someone had put clothes, beds and furniture in a blender, leaving a shredded mass.
Mr Sauczuk complained that his group was given no warning, nor were offered safer shelter, by the hotel.
Pablo Navarro, an auto parts worker who was lodged in temporary accommodations at a beach front hotel, thought he might die in his 13th story hotel room.
“I took shelter in the bathroom, and thankfully the door held,” said Navarro. “But there were some room where the wind blew out the windows and the doors.”
Stuti Mishra26 October 2023 08:29
Why did Hurricane Otis grow so quickly?
Hurricane Otis tore across Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a powerful and dangerous Category 5 hurricane on Wednesday.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane, meaning its wind speed were by 35mph (46kph) in 24 hours.
Its rapid intensification left officials blindsided.
Here’s how the hurricane intensified so quickly and how record-breaking ocean temperatures are fuelling stronger and more destructive cyclones in general.
Stuti Mishra26 October 2023 07:13
Acapulco still mostly inaccessible after havoc wreaked by Hurricane Otis
The town of Acapulco remained almost inaccessible by roads Wednesday night as officials continue to assess the damage from Hurricane Otis.
Little is known about possible deaths or the full extent of the damage as experts are calling Otis the strongest storm in history to make landfall along the Eastern Pacific Coast.
Many of the once sleek beachfront hotels looked like toothless shattered hulks, after Hurricane Otis blew out hundreds – and possibly thousands – of hotel windows.
Choked with mud and debris, with no electricity or internet service, the Pacific coast resorts descended into chaos after the storm, as thousands engaged in massive looting.
Diamond Zone, an oceanfront area replete with hotels, restaurants and other tourist attractions, looked to be mostly underwater in drone footage that Foro TV posted online on Wednesday afternoon, with boulevards and bridges completely hidden by an enormous lake of brown water.
Large buildings had their walls and roofs partially or completely ripped off.
Dislodged solar panels, cars and debris littered the lobby of one severely damaged hotel. People wandered up to their waists in water in some areas, while on other less-flooded streets soldiers shovelled rubble and fallen palm fronds from the pavement.
While much of the city was in the dark and without phone service, some people were able to use satellite phones loaned by the Red Cross to let family members know they were OK.
Stuti Mishra26 October 2023 06:42
In photos: Hurricane Otis flattens buildings and resort and unleashes massive flooding
Stuti Mishra26 October 2023 06:08
Rescue efforts hampered by unaccessible roads
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that rescue efforts and repair convoys were being hampered by the lack of access. Roads were covered in debris and bridges had collapsed in places after Hurricane Otis.
Flights had been grounded and officials were struggling to access the area as the local military airport had also sustained damage.
The storm moved inland on Wednesday bringing powerful winds and heavy rains across the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. Otis is expected to begin to dissipate when it slams into Mexico’s mountain range later tonight.
Louise Boyle26 October 2023 05:00
Footage of Acapulco shows aftermath of Otis
Ariana Baio26 October 2023 04:00
Otis took many forecasters by surprise
Hurricane Otis slammed into Mexico early on Wednesday as the strongest-ever storm to make landfall on the country’s west coast.
Otis went from a Category 1 to a Category 5 hurricane in only 12 hours — the fastest rate ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The National Hurricane Center considers a storm to rapidly intensify if it increases wind speed by 35mph (46kph) in 24 hours.
While it is still too early to say what impact the climate crisis had on this individual weather event, record-breaking ocean temperatures are fuelling stronger and more destructive cyclones in general.
Heat in the ocean supercharges hurricanes with more moisture and stronger winds. This heat is being caused by a fossil-fuel-driven climate crisis with El Nino, a cyclical weather pattern, layered on top.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says that the climate crisis’s impact on hurricane power is “like adding fuel to a fire”.
Sea level rise is compounding the danger. Since the late 19th century, global sea level has risen by eight inches – threatening coastal communities and increasing flooding risk when storms push water inland.
Rising sea levels can also wipe out natural coastal defences which act as buffers to hurricanes such as marshy wetlands and swamps.
Martha McHardy26 October 2023 02:00