Otis’ rapid intensification in the warm Pacific waters off Mexico’s western coast was described by the US National Hurricane Center as “a nightmare scenario,” noting only one other storm had ever been observed to intensify so quickly: Hurricane Patricia in 2015.
Making landfall at peak strength on Wednesday, Otis became the most powerful hurricane to ever strike Mexico.
As Otis was bearing down on the Guerrero state, authorities readied hundreds of shelters to accept displaced persons and Mexico City mobilized 8,000 troops to the area to assist with rescue and recovery efforts.
Footage posted on social media from Acapulco showed the resort city of 687,000 suffered heavy damage from the cyclone. The city’s iconic Miguel Alemán Coastal Boulevard was strewn with uprooted trees and debris from nearby buildings, and widespread flooding was evident.
According to the Mexican government, efforts to get help to the region were frustrated by the damage to Acapulco airport. For several hours after landfall, communication was “completely lost,” Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told reporters, and electricity was almost totally knocked out across the Guerrero state.
There were no official estimates or reports of deaths when this story went to publication.