Nightmare in paradise. 12,000 tourists evacuated
8:54 AM EDT, October 30, 2023
Sad news has come out of Mexico as the death toll from Hurricane Otis has risen to 48 while 36 people are presently unaccounted for. The storm wreaked havoc particularly in the coastal strip of the Guerrero state, specifically the tourist-loved city of Acapulco.
The Mexican government announced that the death count due to Hurricane Otis, which struck the resort of Acapulco on the Pacific coast on October 25th, had escalated to 48.
Terrifying hurricane hits Mexico
The authorities have relayed that "98% of the victims are Mexican citizens". Additionally, 36 people are believed to be missing.
An "unprecedentedly powerful hurricane," is how the Mexican Ministry of Security and Civil Protection has described the storm, which took meteorologists by surprise, given that the initial forecasts only predicted a heavy tropical storm.
The storm resulted in immense destruction along the coastal strip of the Guerrero state, an area home to nearly 800,000 people.
"Almost everything here is in ruins," media outlets describe the aftermath of the disaster.
From Acapulco and neighboring seaside towns, where the storm severely damaged numerous hotels and homes, destroying the food and water supply system, the military evacuated over 12,000 tourists.
"Only 2 percent of those evacuated were foreign tourists," according to a statement from the Mexican government.
Technical teams have executed the most urgent provisional repairs to the electricity and water supply network in Acapulco and the nearby town of Coyuca de Benitez.
The state governor of Guerrero, Evely Salgado, told journalists: "This was a disaster. Nothing like this has ever happened".
The damages caused by the hurricane in Acapulco and neighboring towns are initially estimated to be around $15 billion. The most modern and expensive part of Acapulco, filled with 20-story hotels, suffered the most significant damage.
As of Friday, nearly 10,000 soldiers, sailors, and military gendarme are on the ground aiding the local populace and tourists; as well as working on preliminary repairs of the damaged electricity and water supply networks due to the storm.
The President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, inspected the aftermath of the disaster on Sunday, October 29th, expressing that Hurricane Otis "surprised" Acapulco with its intensity. "It is an unprecedented event in recent times", added the president.
Mexican meteorologists highlighted that in just five hours, Hurricane Otis had escalated from being a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane— the highest classification. The wind speed reached an alarming 165 mph.
