New satellite images show the scale of destruction caused by Category 5 Hurricane Otis in Acapulco and southern Mexico.
Few in history have endured such a strong hurricane: this had never happened to Acapulco. Its 165 mph winds were similar to a slow-moving 30-mile EF3 tornado.
At least 27 people died when the sea invaded the territories, driven by the wind of the storm that devastated and ripped apart the Acapulco horizon.
The city’s high-rise hotels and residences, which gleamed in the tropical sun before Otis, are now mud-stained skeletons of concrete and twisted metal.
An estimated 80% of Acapulco’s hotels suffered serious damage, Jorge Laurel, former president of the Association of Hotels and Tourist Companies of Acapulco, told CNN .
“This is a chaotic situation, a devastating scenario with unquantifiable damage,” Laurel told CNN. “There is no energy, the entire electrical network is semi or completely destroyed.”
Laurel estimated that about 40,000 tourists were in Acapulco before the storm, despite it being low season.
The unexpected and exceptional speed with which Otis has strengthened, fueled by a warming ocean, is a brutal example of the storms scientists say humans can expect in a climate altered by planet-warming pollution.
And it caught many in Acapulco by surprise, some of whom are still missing. Melitón López arrived in the city on Thursday (26) to meet his daughter Fátima, whom he had not heard from since the storm began to advance.
“She told me, ‘I’m on the bridge, there’s a lot of damage, trees are falling, pieces of buildings are falling,’ and then we didn’t hear from her again,” Lopez said.
A group of tourists told the CNN who took shelter under a bridge for several hours as the storm hit the region, after becoming stranded while traveling by bus back to their hotel.
Storm survivors who live in Acapulco and tourists who were looking for a place to shelter tied their remaining belongings to their cars, looking for shelter, a way out or both. Others began walking to try to find a way out of the city. with the airport paralyzed and roads blocked and congested by debris and vehicles.
Mexican authorities said they would open Acapulco airport on Friday morning with limited capacity for commercial flights from Mexico City to evacuate people and bring medical supplies to the city. They also said they would send 270 buses to the area to help with evacuations.
For those who remain, the extent of the damage is so severe that recovery seems a distant prospect.
“Acapulco needs a lot of help, the federal government needs to put all its attention here, reconstruction will take a long time, a lot of investments and a lot of support programs are needed,” said Laurel.
Help has been slow to arrive and people have become increasingly frustrated and desperate over time. A CNN witnessed people taking food and basic supplies from several stores.
“People tell us they don’t have help: they don’t get water, they don’t get food,” said Gustavo Valdés, from CNN , from Acapulco, on Thursday. “They told us they just needed something to survive.”
VIDEO – Hurricane leaves 27 dead and four missing in Mexico
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
