MEXICO CITY, Oct 26 (Portal) – At least 27 people have died from Hurricane Otis, the Mexican government said on Thursday, after one of the strongest storms ever to hit the country hit the Pacific beach resort early the previous day Acapulco swept away.
Otis flooded streets, tore roofs off homes and hotels, cut off communications, road and air access, and left a trail of destruction throughout Acapulco. According to the government, four other people are still missing.
“What Acapulco suffered was truly catastrophic,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said at a morning news conference.
The missing people are probably members of the navy, said Lopez Obrador.
The storm, which intensified unexpectedly quickly off the Pacific coast, was so strong that it ripped large trees down to their roots, the government said. Hospitals were flooded and patients had to be evacuated to safer areas.
Operations at Acapulco International Airport remain suspended, officials said, citing structural damage.
[1/5]People stand near street stalls damaged by Hurricane Otis near the entrance to Acapulco in the Mexican state of Guerrero, Mexico, October 25. Portal/Henry Romero Acquire License Rights
Nearly 8,400 members of the Mexican army, air force and National Guard are stationed in and around Acapulco to help with the cleanup, the Defense Ministry said.
Classes for students across the state were canceled for a second day, and Gov. Evelyn Salgado said on social media that authorities were working to restore power and reactivate drinking water pumps in Acapulco.
Mexican energy company Pemex (PEMX.UL) said in a statement that supplies of gasoline and diesel to the port of Acapulco and the entire state of Guerrero were assured.
Mexico’s state-owned utility CFE was employing more than 1,300 people to restore power, it said on Wednesday evening, as around 300,000 people remained without power.
Telmex, the Mexican telecommunications company controlled by the family of tycoon Carlos Slim, said it had restored its network in Acapulco by Thursday morning.
The port city’s international airport was closed after Otis destroyed the control tower, disrupted telecommunications and blocked access roads.
Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle, Dave Graham, Sarah Moreland, Lizbeth Diaz and Kylie Madry; writing by Brendan O’Boyle and Cassandra Garrison; Edited by Miral Fahmy and Jonathan Oatis
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