At least 27 killed by ‘disastrous’ Hurricane Otis as Mexico counts cost

At least 27 people died due to Hurricane Otis, Mexico’s government said on Thursday after one of the most powerful storms to hit the country unleashed devastation in the Pacific beach resort of Acapulco early the day before.

Otis flooded streets, ripped roofs off homes and hotels and severed communications, road and air access, leaving a trail of devastation across Acapulco, a city of nearly 900,000. Four more people are still missing, the government said.

“What Acapulco suffered was really disastrous,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a press conference in Mexico City tallying the damage from the storm.

Those missing are believed to be members of the navy, said Lopez Obrador, who went to Acapulco on Wednesday by road, changing his vehicle more than once as the storm damage caused him hold-ups, according to pictures published on social media.

The storm, which intensified unexpectedly rapidly off the Pacific coast, was so powerful it tore large trees up by the roots, the government said. It flooded hospitals, and patients had to be evacuated to safer areas.

Acapulco is the biggest city in the southern state of Guerrero, one of the poorest in Mexico. The local economy depends heavily on tourism, and Otis caused extensive damage to some of the most famous hotels on the city’s shoreline.

Operations at Acapulco’s international airport remain suspended, officials said, citing structural damage.

Nearly 8,400 members of Mexico’s army, air force and national guard were deployed in and near Acapulco to assist in cleanup efforts, the defense ministry said.

Classes were canceled for students across the state for a second day, and Governor Evelyn Salgado said on social media that authorities were working to restore electricity and reactivate drinking water pumps in Acapulco.

Mexican energy company Pemex (PEMX.UL) said there was a secure supply of gasoline and diesel for the port of Acapulco and the entire state of Guerrero.

Mexico’s state power utility CFE had over 1,300 employees working to restore power, it said on Wednesday evening, when some 300,000 people remained without electricity.

Telmex, the Mexican telecommunications firm controlled by the family of tycoon Carlos Slim, said it had restored its network in Acapulco by Thursday morning.

The city’s airport was closed after Otis wrecked the control tower, cut telecommunications and left access roads blocked.

(Reuters)