The death toll from Hurricane Otis has risen to at least 43 dead and 36 missing. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced this this Sunday. “We will help all victims,” the president said in a message recorded during phone calls with members of his Cabinet and Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado. The Federal Electricity Commission plans to restore power no later than Monday evening or Tuesday in Acapulco, where more than half a million users were without power. López Obrador has said he will travel to Acapulco in the next few hours to monitor the damage count.
“We are working around the clock and continue the search for unlocated people,” said Salgado. The governor was responsible for releasing the updated death toll, which increased compared to the 39 deaths and 10 missing confirmed a day earlier. The president acknowledged that the count was preliminary and that rescue efforts were continuing, but stressed that major roads in Acapulco had been restored.
López Obrador has hoped to “get Acapulco back on its feet as quickly as possible” and has reported that the Ministry of Social Affairs has conducted a census of more than 10,400 houses to assess the damage, although no further material details have been provided Effects. The Navy added that 1,500 food supplies and 15,000 liters of water were distributed in the last 24 hours, another 18,000 food supplies and more than 180,000 liters were distributed by the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena).
The Minister of the Navy, Rafael Ojeda, said that they hope to at least double the number of food delivered in the next few hours due to the donations received, explaining that a shipment of 50 tons of food has arrived to support the population . Another 16,000 pantries are expected to arrive from Mexico City this afternoon. Ojeda said the count of property damage, at least in the tourist area of the bay, would also be available in the afternoon.
Luis Cresencio Sandoval, the head of the Sedena, said 9,500 army soldiers were deployed to support the rescue efforts of the DN-III plan. Another 5,000 members of the National Guard are deployed exclusively for security tasks. Sandoval said the National Guard is taking control of all gas stations to prevent a “major tragedy” after several residents were found to be pumping fuel illegally.
“The people of Acapulco have always been very supportive. “I call on you to continue to act with righteousness and order in these difficult times,” López Obrador urged the population. The president has called on affected communities to organize themselves to meet the basic needs of the majority of residents, “starting with those most in need.”
The president has announced that Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O will arrive on Monday to seek the economic reactivation of Acapulco, which depends mainly on tourism. Other members of the Economic Cabinet will also be in Acapulco, such as Economics Minister Raquel Buenrostro. “We will achieve the feat,” commented the president, who plans to arrive in Acapulco in the afternoon. It was not specified when and how the trip will take place.
López Obrador struck a more moderate tone compared to his previous message, in which he was visibly angry, and repeatedly criticized the media and his political opponents. Although he justified on Saturday that he was not in the disaster area because he did not want to put on a “show,” the president surprised by reporting at the end of the video about his second visit this week to Acapulco.
The port and seven other affected communities are struggling to recover from the worst hurricane in decades and the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in the Mexican Pacific. Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and sent condolences from the Vatican this Sunday. “I am with the population in the area of Acapulco, Mexico, which was hit by a very strong hurricane. “I pray for the victims, for their families and for those who suffered serious harm,” the pope said.
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