Hurricane Otis slammed into Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane early on Wednesday (Bernardino Hernandez/AP)
WED, 25 OCT, 2023 -
JOSE ANTONIO RIVERA AND MARIA VERZA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hurricane Otis slammed into Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane early on Wednesday, bringing 165mph (270kmh) winds and heavy rain to Acapulco and surrounding towns, and stirring memories of a 1997 storm that killed dozens of people.
The hurricane was expected to weaken quickly in Guerrero state’s steep mountains, but the 5in (127mm) to 10in (254mm) of rain forecast, with as much as 15in (381mm) possible in some areas, raised the threat of landslides and floods.
Otis had strengthened rapidly, going from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in 12 hours on Tuesday.
Acapulco’s mayor said the town was ‘on maximum alert’ as Hurricane Otis approached
(Bernardino Hernandez/AP)
Residents of Guerrero’s coast scrambled to prepare, but the storm’s sudden intensity appeared to catch many off guard.
“We’re on maximum alert,” Acapulco Mayor Abelina Lopez said on Tuesday night as she urged residents to hunker down at home or move to the city’s shelters.
Otis could be more devastating than Hurricane Pauline that hit Acapulco in 1997, destroying swathes of the city and killing more than 200 people, Ms Lopez said. Hundreds of others were injured in flooding and mudslides.
Between the internationally known resorts of Acapulco and Zihuatanejo are two dozen small towns and villages perched between the mountains and the ocean.
Otis’s arrival came just days after Hurricane Norma struck the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula to the north.
Acapulco is a city of more than a million people at the foot of steep mountains. Luxury homes and slums alike cover the city’s hillsides with views of the glistening Pacific.
Residents of Guerrero’s coast scrambled to prepare, but the storm’s sudden intensity appeared to catch many off guard.
“We’re on maximum alert,” Acapulco Mayor Abelina Lopez said on Tuesday night as she urged residents to hunker down at home or move to the city’s shelters.
Otis could be more devastating than Hurricane Pauline that hit Acapulco in 1997, destroying swathes of the city and killing more than 200 people, Ms Lopez said. Hundreds of others were injured in flooding and mudslides.
Between the internationally known resorts of Acapulco and Zihuatanejo are two dozen small towns and villages perched between the mountains and the ocean.
Otis’s arrival came just days after Hurricane Norma struck the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula to the north.
Acapulco is a city of more than a million people at the foot of steep mountains. Luxury homes and slums alike cover the city’s hillsides with views of the glistening Pacific.
A satellite image showing Hurricane Otis approaching Mexico’s Pacific coast near Acapulco (NOAA/AP)
Guerrero is one of Mexico’s most impoverished and violent states.
On Monday, a local police chief and 12 officers were found massacred on a highway in El Papayo, which is in the Guerrero township of Coyuca de Benitez not far from Otis’s impact zone.
In the Atlantic, Hurricane Tammy continued moving north-eastwards over open water with winds of 85mph (140kph) after sweeping through the Lesser Antilles over the weekend.
Tammy was located about 570 miles (915km) south-southeast of Bermuda.
The storm is expected to become a powerful extratropical cyclone by Thursday, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.
Guerrero is one of Mexico’s most impoverished and violent states.
On Monday, a local police chief and 12 officers were found massacred on a highway in El Papayo, which is in the Guerrero township of Coyuca de Benitez not far from Otis’s impact zone.
In the Atlantic, Hurricane Tammy continued moving north-eastwards over open water with winds of 85mph (140kph) after sweeping through the Lesser Antilles over the weekend.
Tammy was located about 570 miles (915km) south-southeast of Bermuda.
The storm is expected to become a powerful extratropical cyclone by Thursday, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.
October 25, 2023
Members of the federal forces chat as they keep watch at a beach as Hurricane Otis barrels towards Acapulco, Mexico, Oct. 24, 2023.
WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO, SHOOT OTIS?
Forecasters say Hurricane Otis made landfall Wednesday morning on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm.
The latest report from the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Otis is about 10 kilometers south of the popular resort city of Acapulco with maximum sustained winds of 270 kilometers an hour, putting it on the highest rung of the center’s five-level scale that measures a storm’s maximum sustained wind speed and destructive potential.
The NHC has issued hurricane and tropical storm watches and warnings for much of Guerrero state, which is home to Acapulco, as well as neighboring Oaxaca state.
Forecasters predict the storm will dump as much as 20 to 40 centimeters of rain across Guerrero and the western coastal sections of Oaxaca, with maximum amounts of 50 centimeters, triggering flash flooding and mudslides in high areas.
Otis will also trigger a potentially catastrophic storm surge that will produce life-threatening coastal flooding, along with large and destructive waves.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged residents in Guerrero state to “move to shelters, stay in safe places: away from rivers, streams, ravines and be alert.”
The NHC says Otis will weaken as it moves inland over higher terrain during the day, then dissipate over southern Mexico Wednesday night.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
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