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A weather station near Acapulco measured A wind gust of 205 miles per hour, one of the highest ever recorded in the world, as Category 5 Otis hit the west coast of Mexico last Wednesday as the strongest hurricane ever recorded. The storm killed more than 40 people and caused catastrophic damage in and around Acapulco. The economic damage is expected to be over $10 billion.
The wind gusts reported by the National Tidal Service are preliminary, but if confirmed would rank among the top 10 strongest wind gusts on record observed global. Weather agencies such as the National Hurricane Center and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) typically confirm extreme observations through post-storm analyses.
The strongest wind ever recorded, according to the World Meteorological Organization, was a gust of 253 miles per hour on Barrow Island in Australia during Tropical Cyclone Olivia on April 10, 1996. Previously, Mount Washington sustained a gust of 231 miles on April 12, 1934 per hour the wind record. And most recently, a gust of 213 mph was recorded on Orchid Island in Taiwan last month during Typhoon Koinu.
Extreme winds often go unnoticed because such gusts can either damage or destroy instruments. In this case, however, the weather station operated by the National Tidal Service was “the only element that remained completely stationary” nearby observe “Since the entire perimeter fence disappeared,” the agency said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Otis stunned meteorologists as it strengthened at a record-breaking rate, with wind speeds increasing to 90 mph in just 12 hours and 115 mph in 24 hours before slamming into Acapulco with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph. Most computer models only predicted that Otis would develop into a Category 1 hurricane, leading to what forecasters described as a “nightmare scenario” when it unexpectedly turned into a Category 5 hurricane before becoming a major hurricane population center hit.
The death toll from the storm reached at least 46 on Wednesday, with dozens of people remaining missing. Acapulco and surrounding areas were still recovering from massive power and communications outages, a lack of public transportation, limited telephone service, and food and water shortages. Around 274,000 houses were damaged or destroyed, around 120 hospitals and clinics were damaged, and around 600 hotels and condominiums were affected.
Billions of dollars in economic damage are expected. “The direct physical damage and net business interruption costs of Hurricane Otis will result in economic losses of at least $10 billion,” Steve Bowen, chief science officer of global reinsurance broker Gallagher Re, wrote in an email. “It will be one of the costliest natural disasters ever for Mexico.”
“Of particular concern is that the majority of homeowners in Acapulco are uninsured and even a portion of commercial properties are uninsured. “That will mean that a significant portion of the loss is either uninsured or underinsured,” Bowen continued.
Verisk, a data analytics and technology company, estimates insured losses at $3 billion to $6 billion, most of which is attributable to the extreme winds. “There are many larger apartments and condos as well as hotels on the Acapulco coast. Many of them had most of their windows blown out,” Verisk said in a news release.
“Damage to the roofing was also found on many buildings near the coast. Smaller commercial and residential buildings in Acapulco also suffered extensive damage: siding was thrown off walls, roofs torn off and debris scattered.” Verisk noted that it predicts Otis will be “one of the costliest (if not highest) events ever for the Mexican insurance market.”
Samantha Schmidt contributed to this report.