Hurricane Otis LIVE | At least 43 dead and 36 missing in Acapulco and latest news on the powerful cyclone

This Sunday, Mexican authorities confirmed four more people who died as a result of the devastating Hurricane Otis through the port of Acapulco (south), bringing the number of fatalities to 43, and 36 people are reported missing. Of the dead, 33 were men and 10 women, explained Evelyn Salgado, governor of Guerrero, where the well-known resort is located, in a message on social media.

FOLLOW THE PATH OF HURRICANE OTIS LIVE

In a video call conversation with the president Andrés Manuel López Obradorthe person responsible said that this is a “preliminary assessment”.

WATCH: How Otis went from a tropical storm to a powerful Category 5 hurricane just hours before hitting Acapulco

The president announced that he will move to Acapulco this Sunday.

Facade of a building affected by Hurricane Otis in the resort of Acapulco, in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. (EFE/David Guzmán).

The death toll has been slow after the cyclone caused the collapse of telecommunications and electricity services, which were gradually restored over the weekend.

Different media outlets reported the discovery of apparent bodies in different parts of the port.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador during a visit to the community of Kilometer 42, near Acapulco, state of Guerrero, Mexico, after the passage of Hurricane Otis, on October 25, 2023. (Photo by RODRIGO OROPEZA / AFP) ( RODRIGO OROPEZA/)

The meteor, which arrived on Wednesday morning as category 5the maximum on the Saffir-Simpson scale, it also left a wave of destruction in this city of almost 780 thousand inhabitants that lives off the tourist sector, practically in ruins.

“We are making progress in the efficient distribution of humanitarian aid, providing relevant support and advancing in the restoration of services”, wrote Salgado on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

Debris on a street affected by Hurricane Otis in Acapulco. (EFE/David Guzmán). (David Guzmán/)

View of the damage caused after the passage of Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, state of Guerrero, Mexico, on October 25, 2023. (Photo by FRANCISCO ROBLES/AFP). (FRANCISCO ROBLES/)

WATCH: Hurricane Norma LIVE: Trajectory of the powerful cyclone that hit Baja California

After Otis passed, stores and supermarkets were looted by residents, desperate for food and water, although thefts of various items were also recorded.

Government and private aid began to be distributed on Friday afternoon, after the inauguration of Acapulco airport and the gradual acceleration of traffic on the roads.

Aerial photography shows the damage caused by Hurricane Otis in the hotel zone of Acapulco, state of Guerrero, Mexico. (EFE/David Guzmán).

However, the process is slow and many neighboring sectors require help and organization to clean up the damage caused to their businesses and homes.

The federal government counted more than 10,000 homes with damage of varying severity.

According to the consultancy Enki Research, specialized in natural phenomena, Otis leaves losses of around 15 billion dollars.

In Acapulco There are also impoverished communities that live on hills, in houses made of fragile materials. There are no known reports of damage in that area.

An AFP team visited the coastal area this Thursday, where they found considerable damage to hotels, homes and businesses, as well as some looting in abandoned establishments.

People collect supplies from a supermarket looted after Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico, on October 26, 2023. (Photo by RODRIGO OROPEZA/AFP). (RODRIGO OROPEZA/)

???????? | DEVASTATING: Hurricane Otis left a chaotic landscape in Acapulco, Mexico, after making landfall as a powerful Category 5 cyclone. The emerging images are shocking. pic.twitter.com/u30icG1Qay

-UHN Plus (@UHN_Plus) October 25, 2023

Communication networks

One of the port’s main avenues was covered in mud while Dozens of people, many of them with suitcases in their hands, walked in the absence of public transport and taxis.

For José Luis Flores, 72 years old and resident of San Diego, in the United States, the holidays became a “tragedy”.

“We are disoriented, we have no communication with our children. We have no signal, We look for a signal, energy. “We didn’t eat anything,” he told AFP.

Hurricane #Otiscategory 5, hit Acapulco with winds exceeding 265 km/h, seriously affecting hotels and businesses, as was the case with the Hospital of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). pic.twitter.com/bVfxaoACjQ

— Grandma García®™ (@rthur013) October 25, 2023

Some of the wandering residents looking for water and food They stop press teams to ask them to let them call relatives or send them a message that they are okay.

“Blanca Smith is fine,” says graffiti on the wall of a hotel that suffered serious damage.

In cell phone messaging applications, “chats” were created for different sectors of society. Acapulco so that those looking to listen to their loved ones can participate, although many are already saturated, noted AFP.

In the morning, Army elements removed mud and debris from coastal avenues, while the streets entering and exiting the port recorded heavy traffic at midday with areas blocked.

The force of the winds was so strong that it swept away vehicles, like a cargo truck that overturned on an avenue or a car that arrived at the reception of a luxurious hotel.

The damage caused after the passage of Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, state of Guerrero, Mexico, on October 25, 2023. (Photo by FRANCISCO ROBLES/AFP). (FRANCISCO ROBLES/)

Punta Diamante, the most luxurious and modern area of ​​the port and where hotels and apartment buildings with around twenty floors are built, is one of the most affected, with walls of several floors demolished by the power of Otis.

Tourist occupancy in Acapulco, with around 20,000 hotel rooms, was 50%, according to authorities.

The government of the state of Guerrero (south), where the port is located, reported that 80% of hotels suffered damage and that they provided around 40 buses to offer free transportation.

Street affected by the passage of Hurricane Otis in the resort of Acapulco, in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. (EFE/David Guzmán).

The airport remains closed, so airlines have offered to fly tourists from Zihuatanejo, located 225 kilometers away.

unprecedented phenomenon

López Obrador acknowledged that the impact of Otis, the most powerful hurricane to hit Acapulco, was surprising.

“It is unprecedented in the country in recent times (…). What Acapulco suffered was very disastrous (…) the people protected themselves, so fortunately there were no more misfortunes,” he said.

View of the damage caused after the passage of Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, state of Guerrero, Mexico, on October 26, 2023. (Photo by RODRIGO OROPEZA/AFP). (RODRIGO OROPEZA/)

In around six hours, and against all weather forecasts, the phenomenon went from a tropical storm to a catastrophic category 5 hurricane, forcing authorities to accelerate prevention measures in Guerrero, which in 1997 was hit by Paulina with a death toll. greater than 200. dead.

Due to its extensive Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, Mexico is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impact of hurricanes.

Two other hurricanes hit the Mexican Pacific in October: Norma, which left three dead in Sinaloa (northwest) and Lidia, with two deaths in Jalisco and Nayarit (west).

Source: Elcomercio