During the early hours of this Wednesday, the eye of the powerful Hurricane Otis hit as a category 5 in the vicinity of Acapulco, in the Mexican state of Guerrero, leaving floods and damage to homes, businesses and hotels in its wake.
In his morning conference from the National Palace, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, assured that Otis’ impact was “very strong” in Acapulco and several municipalities.
“Yes, the hurricane hit Guerrero very hardon the large coast in Acapulco, in Tecpan, in that entire stretch from Tecpan to Acapulco, Coyuca de Benítez, Juárez and other municipalities, Atoyac, those that are in that strip and the hurricane is still affecting, communications have been completely lost and the general secretary of the Navy, the secretary of Citizen Protection, the secretary of Communications and Transportation, the director of Civil Protection are leaving,” he said.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated that so far there are no reports of human losses but there are serious damage to infrastructure, which is why the Army’s DN-III plan and the Marine Plan are applied to serve the population.
“Since yesterday we were there, there are Army and Navy brigades, the DN-III plan is being applied, the Navy Plan but very strong, it is a phenomenon because in a very short time, 12 hours, it began to gain strength and entered with category 5, it is being considered that it will be downgraded to category 2 but there will be rain all day, and We are seeking to reestablish communications, so far we have no data on loss of human life But there is no communication, we do not know, if there is material damage, broken roads, the highway itself leading to Acapulco has landslides, the communication people are already working,” he said.
“Our biggest concern is the large coastal highway and the population who lives from Acapulco to Zihuatanejo. Communication is already being established and we are going to dedicate all day today to continuing to carry out a rescue and support operation for the affected population. It was applied since yesterday, there are sailors, shelters, work is being done,” she commented.
According to the National Meteorological Service of Mexico, in less than 24 hours Otis went from being a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane, the highest of these natural phenomena, and moved quickly through the Mexican Pacific, registering sustained winds of 260 kilometers per kilometer. hour (km/h) and gusts of 315 km/h.
“Yesterday when I was informed that it was a phenomenon, because rarely, according to records, does a hurricane develop like this so soon and with such force, so at 8 p.m. I sent a statement, but They had informed us that it would enter from 4 to 6 in the morning and no, it entered shortly after 12, it made landfall and was very strong.”said López Obrador.
After the impact, Otis began to degrade this Wednesday to category 2, however the danger due to its hurricane-force winds reached Coyuca de Benítez and San Marcos, in addition to recording extraordinary occasional rains in regions of Guerrero and intense rains in areas of Oaxaca, according to the meteorological authority.
“Hurricane Otis over Guerrero will cause very heavy to intense occasional rains in the south of the country, with extraordinary occasional events (accumulated more than 250 mm in 24 hours), intense gusts of wind and high waves in Guerrero. Also, it will increase the probability of heavy occasional rains in the center and showers in western Mexico,” states the National Water Commission in its report at 6:00 in the morning.
In the next few hours, Otis is expected to leave Guerrero to head to the state of Michoacán where it will further degrade into a tropical storm.
“Over the next few hours, the cloud bands from Hurricane Otis, will maintain extraordinary punctual rains (greater than 250 millimeters) in regions of Guerrero; intense (from 75 to 150 mm) in areas of Oaxaca, it also increases the probability of showers (from 5 to 25 mm) and heavy occasional rains (from 25 to 50) in the State of Mexico, Michoacán, Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala” says CONAGUA.
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