There will be no budget limits to help the inhabitants of Acapulco after the passage of Hurricane Otis. Mexican President Andres Manual Lopez Obrador said this during a press conference where he announced that the ‘house by house’ damage census will begin today. The operation has been entrusted to the armed forces who will also deal with the distribution of food and basic necessities in the most affected areas. Hurricane Otis, category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with a crescendo that surprised experts, devastated the coasts of Mexico with winds of 260 km/h, with gusts reaching up to 315 km/h.
The number of deaths in the city of Acapulco alone has risen to 30. The damage is estimated at several billion dollars. The government has decreed a state of emergency to facilitate the work of rescue teams. Still 50% of the population is without electricity, while water supply and telecommunications services are being restored. The city of Acapulco appears devastated in the images from above. The images broadcast on national and international TV are desolate, with flooded streets, trees and electricity pylons knocked down, buildings severely damaged with unusable doors and windows.
70% of hotels, including ultra-luxury hotels, were damaged. Tens of thousands of tourists who were staying in the seaside resort are leaving on trucks made available by the authorities. Supplies of basic necessities and food are struggling to reach the city, due to difficulties on the main communication routes, resulting in widespread looting, with the population taking everything they can from abandoned supermarkets and shops.
“There have been acts of looting in some places,” President Obrador declared yesterday, urging residents not to take advantage of the situation. The Mexican Security Minister, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, reported that, due to the impact of Otis, there were serious effects on road infrastructure, power lines, communications, hospitals, and the seismic warning system.
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