Category 5 storm struck Acapulco and leveled homes, hotels and cut off communications as military called in to help with aid efforts
At least 27 people were killed and four remain missing after Hurricane Otis ripped through the beach resort of Acapulco, leveling homes and hotels, submerging cars and cutting off communications.
The extent of the damage from the category 5 storm, which struck Mexico on Thursday with winds of 165mph, has started to become clear as thousands of first responders and military officers began to assess the damages. Nearly 8,400 members of Mexico’s army, air force and national guard were deployed to assist in cleanup efforts, the defense ministry said.
“What Acapulco suffered was really disastrous,” said Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president, at a news conference in Mexico City after making a brief visit to the disaster area. Parts of Acapulco, a city of nearly 900,000 and a major tourist destination that attracts tourists from around the world, remained without power or communication, he said.
Otis was one of the most powerful storms to have ever hit the country, officials said. It shocked forecasters and scientists as it rapidly intensified off the Pacific coast while passing through warm waters, tearing up streets and scattering debris as it made landfall.
