Acapulco remains devastated a month after Hurricane Otis, despite efforts

One month after death Hurricane Otisthe most powerful in the history of Mexicodevastation prevails in Acapulcowhere its inhabitants criticize the Government’s late response in supporting the more than 250 thousand victims.

The streets of Acapulcoone of the most touristic cities in the Mexicothey are still full of rubbish, most of the buildings on the seafront only retain their skeletons, the houses on the hills are still full of mud and many families have still not found their relatives who disappeared that night amid the rain and wind or under rubble.

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Local, state and federal authorities guarantee that they are making every effort to help Acapulco recover and that Acapulqueños work day and night with the same goal, but they guarantee that they need more help.

Workers clean up the remains caused by the passage of Hurricane Otis, on November 24, 2023, in the resort of Acapulco, state of Guerrero, Mexico. (Photo by David Guzmán/EFE)

“The truth is that we destroyed Acapulco and it wasn’t just a part, it was all of Acapulco, everyone who has more, those who have little, those who have average income, it affected all of us, so it’s complicated. We need more help“, he said in an interview with EFE Jesus Zamoraowner of several restaurants in the city and president of infrastructure at Tourism Advisory Board.

Interviewed at one of his restaurants that suffered much less damage than others on the Acapulco Coast, he says he feels “more or less relaxed”when he is in this place, but when he goes out into the street he is once again aware of the difficulties his city is going through and how long it will take for normality to return.

“When you go out into the street the sadness returns and you see again that everything is there and you don’t see it when”, he stated.

Landslides, mud and trash

Likewise, residents of the highlands of Acapulco, many of whom lost their homes due to landslides, see the time when normality will return as very distant, as the machines advance very slowly, there are not enough of them and they have to displace move to various parts of the city before finishing their work.

In addition to not having a habitable home, some lost several family members. The official number is 50 dead and 30 missing.

Workers remove debris with heavy machinery in an area affected by the passage of Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, state of Guerrero, Mexico, on November 25, 2023. (Photo by David Guzmán/EFE) (David Guzmán/)

On Thursday, the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obradorvisited Acapulco and promised to rebuild “in a very short time” the city when defending its Government’s response after four weeks of Hurricane Otiswhile residents protested to denounce the lack of support and the persistence of missing people.

“We are talking about (rebuilding) 250 thousand houses and we want to do it in a very short space of time, so that we can have new houses, rehabilitated, painted, in the colors we like“, declared the president in his morning conference.

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The Mexican president has received questions about the official death toll (50) and the late care for victims in Acapulco and Coyuca de Benítezthe two most affected municipalities, but accused their “opponents” to publicize that the cyclone left more than 300 people dead.

The Fitch agency estimated the catastrophic losses due to the hurricane at 16 billion dollars, while business chambers anticipated two years and up to 300 billion pesos for the reconstruction of Acapulco.

Even so, the president justified his Government’s budget, which on November 1st estimated reparations and social support at 61,313 million pesos.

Censuses and belongings

To date, the Government has delivered 11,836 packages of household goods out of a total of 250,000, more than 1 million supplies and claims to have started delivering support between 35,000 pesos and 60,000 pesos to people with affected homes or commercial establishments. .

Businessman Jesús Zamora assured that establishments that provide tourist services have already been registered but that so far they have not received any financial assistance.

View of an area affected by the passage of Hurricane Otis, on November 24, 2023, in Acapulco, state of Guerrero, Mexico. (Photo by David Guzmán/EFE)

A neighbor from the Colosio neighborhood, Teresa Colintold EFE that belongings were delivered to his area: mattress, stove, cookware set, blender, refrigerator and fan after the Welfare Secretary take a census.

Even so, the most serious problem for her is that water is still very scarce in that and other areas where the streets are still full of trash and many houses that collapsed have not been cleaned, which “It has made people sick”.

Finally, Zamora assured that, contrary to what López Obrador recently said, Acapulco will not be recovered until December, the best time for tourism in Acapulco and the main source of income for a large part of its population.

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“I would like to have my business full and all my colleagues to have it. Not only because of me, the sailors have already spent a month without gaining a single weight and on top of that they have lost all their possessions. It is definitely not possible, neither restaurants nor hotels will be restored in December”, he stated.

Hoteliers predicted a 20% recovery in available accommodation in December and up to 50% for Holy Week.

“We want them (tourists) to come, but we want the federal government to help us so that all businesses are restored and Acapulco shines again“, concluded the businessman.

Source: Elcomercio