December, 2023
By Marisol Palomo, Staff Reporter
On October 25th, 2023 hurricane Otis made its pathway through the city of Acapulco, Mexico in the Southern Pacific coast, at 1:25 a.m, as a category 5 hurricane.
With winds of 165 miles per hour the hurricane intensified quickly with wind speeds dramatically increasing within the last 24 hours before the storm hit land. According to the National Hurricane Center, it was one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded hitting the Eastern Pacific.
Because of how fast and unpredictable Otis was, many people in Acapulco had little to no time to prepare for this phenomenon. Reports and images from Acapulco showed devastation to structures, including many hotels and tall buildings, in addition to fallen trees, severe flooding, and mudslides. Some other damages were reported in clinics and hospitals. Many electrical poles were completely destroyed and more than 10,000 people lost power. There were power outages and disruptions of internet communications across the region. While transmission lines were severely damaged, news reported 46 deaths and 58 people missing.
When Otis hit, many rescue crew members couldn’t provide aid to the people of Acapulco because they couldn’t travel into the city, because of the mudslides outside of the city. According to the Associated Press, the 10,000 troops that were deployed to the area needed the tools to clear mud and downed trees off roads. Recovery repairs are continuing as crews have been working non stop to repair the damages. Furthermore, the Mexican Red Cross is still in the process of delivering 75 tons of humanitarian aid. More than 1,600 people remain in shelters in both Acapulco and Coyuca de Benitez.
This hurricane caused many people to be left without resources, and has made it very difficult for help to come around. At the end of it people have helped each other to survive and continue with life after a catastrophic event.
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