Acapulco hurricane leaves 39 dead, destruction
‘Otis’ leaves Mexico tourist haunt in ruins
ACAPULCO, MEXICO - OCTOBER 25: General view of a shopping mall destroyed after hurricane Otis hit Acapulco on October 25, 2023 in Acapulco, Mexico. Otis made landfall through the coast of Acapulco around midnight of October 25 as a category 5 storm. President Lopez Obrador reported that communications were interrupted in the city, power lines were down affecting almost a million people, infrastructure is severely damaged and the roads to the port present important damages. Hurricane Otis degraded to category 2 after reaching land. (Photo by Oscar Guerrero Ramirez/Getty Images)
Acapulco was struggling Saturday to recover from the extraordinarily powerful Hurricane "Otis", which claimed 39 lives and provoked widespread power, water and telephone outages.
The picturesque Mexican tourist haunt, which once lured Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis Presley, had never experienced a Category 5 hurricane like "Otis," which roared ashore Wednesday and made local landmarks built over decades look like they had been bombed.
A lack of phone signal has left survivors desperate to communicate with loved ones. Some 200,000 homes were damaged, with a number of restaurants and businesses in ruins.
"We must restart the reconstruction of Acapulco as soon as possible," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said.
As aid finally began to arrive after the storm's devastating landfall — initial estimates report $15 billion in damage — the government on Saturday upped the death toll from the previous report of 27.
Secretary of Security Rosa Icela Rodriguez said in a video on social media that at least 10 people remain missing, up from four previously reported.
A security force of some 17,000 has been deployed across the area after reports that supermarkets had been looted, authorities said.
Additionally, the Mexican army and navy have established an air bridge "to accelerate the distribution of humanitarian aid," a government statement said.
Thousands of liters of water and food supplies have been distributed in the resort city, home to 790,000 people.
The government said victims in need of specialized care were being flown to hospitals elsewhere in Mexico.
Survivors angry
Despite the government efforts, many survivors around the area were still struggling to contact family and friends elsewhere in Mexico.
Andrea Fernandez, who is eight months pregnant, said she was distraught — unable to let her husband in another state know that she is fine.
"There is no (cellular) service. I haven't been able to communicate for three days," she said, jostling on a bridge with about 20 others keen to reach loved ones.
"I'm desperate," she said through tears.
Cell phones intermittently pick up signals in some parts of the port, but the situation is hit or miss.
Some survivors have told local media they were angry to hear tourists were taken to safe places to ride out the storm — in sharp contrast to the local population.