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Hurricane Otis has rapidly strengthened.
CNN –
Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm, is expected to make landfall near Acapulco, Mexico, on Wednesday morning, battering the coastal region with damaging winds and potentially a “catastrophic storm surge,” forecasters say.
On Tuesday evening, Otis was blowing with winds of 160 mph and stronger gusts while its core was about 55 miles south-southeast of Acapulco and moving north-northwest at 9 mph. The hurricane center said the hurricane was expected to make landfall near or west of the city, a seaside resort on Mexico’s Pacific coast, by early Wednesday.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the coast of Punta Maldonado west of Zihuatanejo. A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning are also active from Lagunas de Chacahua to Punta Maldonado.
The primary threats to Otis are damaging winds, heavy rainfall, and dangerous storm surges.
Strong winds of up to 120 km/h were expected to reach the Mexican coast Pacific on the coast Tuesday evening and then spread to other areas throughout Wednesday.
Otis is also expected to create life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from the center, while tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles, the hurricane center said.
These winds are forecast to be accompanied by a “potentially catastrophic storm surge” that could cause life-threatening coastal flooding near where it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday morning.
“Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves,” the hurricane center said.
Additionally between 8 and 16 A total of 20 inches of rain is expected by the end of the week, with some areas receiving up to 20 inches of rain. The heavy rains could lead to flash floods and flooding in cities as well as mudslides in higher areas, the hurricane center warned.
If Otis makes landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, it would be the first Category 5 landfall in the Eastern Pacific, according to the NOAA Hurricane Database. The strongest landfall to date was Hurricane Patricia in 2015, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 miles per hour.