Mexico (Reuters), Oct. 25 Early Wednesday morning, Category 5 Hurricane Otis devastated Acapulco hotels and drove guests out with severe rain and high gusts.
When Guerrero woke up to Otis’ chaos, social media footage showed hurricane-damaged rooms, ceilings, walls, and cars half-flooded.Lobbies, patios, and hotel balconies were littered with debris as the hurricane lashed the beach. Damage assessment was difficult because the storm severely damaged phone communications.
Luisa Pena, a scared Acapulco hotel visitor, said she hid in a closet throughout the storm.”I literally started to pray,” she stated on TikTok. “Panic took hold of me to such an extent that all I asked for was just one more chance.”
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Otis “destroyed” her room. Nurses in one hospital moved patients to avoid Otis, which expanded swiftly at sea and reached the coast with 165 mph gusts. Hurricane Otis, one of the fiercest in the region, hit the shore at Category 5 before sliding to Category 4.
As it moved inland, it deteriorated to Category 1 by midmorning. Despite no storm-related deaths, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador emphasized that officials were still gathering information. “The hurricane is still affecting the area, and communications are completely down,” he told a government press conference.
Mexico National Water Organization about Hurricane
The Mexican water agency CONAGUA forecast that Otis would continue to bring heavy rainfall to Guerrero. Guerrero’s civil protection authorities blamed Otis for power outages, Acapulco plane cancellations, and class cancellations. Otis, with 200 mph gusts, hit the Pacific coast almost eight years after Hurricane Patricia, startling Mexico.
The U.S. At 9 a.m. local time, the National Hurricane Center predicted 80 mph winds from Otis 100 miles (161 km) north-northwest of Acapulco.
Otis could deliver 20 inches (51 cm) of rain, mudslides, a “potentially catastrophic” storm surge, and life-threatening surf and rip currents to Guerrero and Oaxaca, authorities warned.
CONAGUA predicts 6–8-meter (20–26-foot) swells off Guerrero and Oaxaca. Guerrero hurricane shelters, and the National Guard prepared for rescues and evacuations.
Lopez Obrador stated late Tuesday that the Defense Ministry had a contingency plan before the storm. Soldiers monitored Acapulco’s emptying beaches.
Reporting by Javier Verdin in Acapulco and Brendan O’Boyle and Diego Ore in Mexico City Additional reporting by Natalia Siniawski Editors: Dave Graham, Sharon Singleton, Jonathan Oatis, and Matthew Lewis
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