Hurricane Otis intensified very quickly, reaching maximum intensity on the SaffirSimpson scale and will hit the area of Acapulco, the most famous Mexican resort on the Pacific coast, in the early hours of this Wednesday, the location for several films and films filmed in the city Television productions are known as a famous episode of the popular series Chaves.
Hurricane Otis in the early hours of this Wednesday with Category 5 very close to the coast of Mexico and approaching Acapulco | TROPICAL TIBIDTS
Tropical Cyclone Otis gained strength and speed as it moved over very warm waters in the Pacific due to the influence of the El Niño phenomenon. North American meteorologists specializing in tropical cyclones describe Hurricane Otis as growing “at breakneck speed and much faster than expected.”
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the United States, Otis is approaching the coast at force 5 west of Acapulco and with maximum sustained winds of over 200 km/h. The scenario puts the city directly in the direction of the hurricane or directly on the right side of the storm, increasing the potential for a catastrophic event for Acapulco.
“It is a Category 5 hurricane on the SaffirSimpson hurricane scale and will continue at this strength until it makes landfall, likely causing catastrophic damage,” the NHC added in its early report Wednesday as Otis moved a distance of 90 kilometers approached southwest of Acapulco.
Otis will make landfall in the Acapulco region this morning on Wednesday, with extreme rain and wind at speeds of high destructive potential. Flash flooding and landslides are expected as widespread rainfall of 125mm to 250mm is forecast, with localized rainfall ranging from 250mm to 500mm, causing severe damage in the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, both on the coast and inland will lead to flooding.
“This is an extremely dangerous situation for the Acapulco metropolitan area as the center of the destructive hurricane passes near or directly over the city. “There are no hurricanes of intensity even close to this intensity that have struck this part of Mexico,” the NHC wrote in stark warning terms. “A nightmare scenario is playing out tonight,” says the United States National Hurricane Center.
The Guerrero state government has suspended classes and postponed the submission of an annual management report to focus on prevention work, a statement said. “The most important thing is to strengthen coordination with the authorities (…) and the armed forces, with the clear aim of ensuring the wellbeing of the population and avoiding risks,” Governor Evelyn Salgado is quoted as saying in the bulletin.
The military patrolled areas near the coast of Acapulco (about 380 km south of Mexico City), where maritime activities and shipping were suspended. Employees of businesses near the beach rushed to remove furniture from hotels and restaurants as skies turned cloudy, an AFP official noted.
Residents and tourists watched rough seas on Acapulco Beach late Tuesday afternoon, hours before monster Hurricane Otis hit the Mexican resort | FRANCISCO ROBLES/AFP/METSUL METEOROLOGY
Local government officials were also reportedly suspended from work while citizens were urged to follow official recommendations. Disaster management authorities are also conducting inspections of sites to be used as emergency shelters, the government added. Large stores such as North American Walmart and Mexico’s Aurrerá closed Tuesday afternoon.
Acapulco was struck by Hurricane Paulina on October 9, 1997, making landfall as a Category 4 storm and causing more than two hundred deaths, making it one of the deadliest in Mexican history.
The SMN maintains a section of almost 500 kilometers between Punta Maldonado and Zihuatanejo in Guerrero, as well as part of the coast of the neighboring state of Oaxaca (south), on alert. Warnings for heavy rain and wind were also issued in seven states in the south and central parts of the country.
Due to its extensive Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, Mexico is one of the most vulnerable countries to hurricanes, with at least a dozen occurrences per year. In October 2015, the central part of the Pacific coast was hit by Patricia, the strongest hurricane in local meteorological records with sustained winds of 325 km/h and gusts of up to 400 km/h, but which left only material damage, reaching the coast in a mountainous and uninhabited area.
But in September 2013, another unprecedented phenomenon was recorded on the Mexican coast: at the same time, Tropical Storm Manuel entered the Pacific and Hurricane Ingrid entered the Gulf of Mexico, claiming 157 lives. In October 2005, Mexico’s Caribbean was hit by Wilma, the costliest hurricane in history, which hit Cozumel and then slowly devastated Cancún and the Riviera Maya for more than 48 hours. There were eight deaths and more than $10 billion in damage, particularly to luxury hotels.