[1/4]Members of federal forces chat as they keep watch on a beach as Hurricane Otis barrels toward Acapulco, Mexico, October 24, 2023. Portal/Javier Verdin LICENSES
ACAPULCO, Mexico, Oct 25 (Portal) – Hurricane Otis made landfall on Mexico’s southern coast on Wednesday, with damaging hurricane force winds from the now Category 4 storm spreading inland across the beach resorts of Acapulco, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The hurricane, downgraded from Category 5 earlier in the day, made landfall near Acapulco and is moving toward southern Mexico, bringing heavy rains and flash floods with hurricane-force winds, the latest NHC statement said.
The storm could bring up to 20 inches (51 cm) of rain to parts of Guerrero and Oaxaca states, with the possibility of flash floods and mudslides, a “potentially catastrophic” storm surge and “life-threatening” surf and rip current conditions, authorities said.
Mexico’s national water agency CONAGUA warned of six to eight meter surf off Guerrero – home to Acapulco – and parts of Oaxaca.
Otis is about 25 miles north-northwest of Acapulco and is blowing maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour (215 km/h), the Miami-based NHC added.
In Guerrero, authorities were preparing storm shelters and the National Guard said it was helping prepare for rescues and evacuations.
Mexico’s National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC) said power outages were reported across Guerrero due to the hurricane.
The Defense Ministry issued a disaster plan before the storm hit, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on social media late Tuesday, as soldiers patrolled Acapulco’s emptying beaches.
Schools across Guerrero canceled classes for Wednesday ahead of Otis’ arrival, Gov. Evelyn Salgado said on social media.
Reporting by Javier Verdin in Acapulco and Brendan O’Boyle in Mexico City; writing by Brendan O’Boyle and Natalia Siniawski; Edited by Robert Birsel, Bernadette Baum and Jan Harvey
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