A monster Category 5 hurricane is headed straight for Acapulco

Hurricane Otis has rapidly intensified, reaching maximum intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale and will hit the Acapulco area in the early hours of Wednesday, the most popular Mexican resort on the Pacific coast known for the many film and television productions filmed in the city. , such as a famous episode of the famous series Chavez.

Tropical Cyclone Otis gained a lot of strength and very quickly as it advanced over very warm waters in the Pacific Ocean due to the influence of El Niño. North American meteorologists who specialize in tropical cyclones describe Hurricane Otis intensifying “extremely quickly and much more quickly than expected.”

Otis, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC, in the United States), is approaching the coast at Category 5 strength, west of Acapulco, with maximum sustained winds of more than 200 km/h. The scenario places the city directly in the hurricane’s path. Or just on the right side of the storm, making it more likely to be a catastrophic event for Acapulco.

“It is a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale,” the National Hurricane Center added in its early morning bulletin on Wednesday, as Otis was approaching, “and will continue at this strength until it makes landfall, likely causing catastrophic damage.” Southwest of Acapulco .

Otis will make landfall in the Acapulco area on Wednesday morning with heavy rain and winds with high destructive potential. Flash floods and landslides are expected, with widespread rainfall ranging from 125 mm to 250 mm with local totals ranging from 250 mm to 500 mm, which will lead to severe flooding in the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, both on the coast and inland. . .

“This is an extremely dangerous situation for the Acapulco metropolitan area as the center of the devastating hurricane passes near or directly above the city. There are no hurricanes of this approaching intensity that have struck this part of Mexico,” the National Hurricane Center wrote in harsh words of warning. For tornadoes in the United States: “There is a nightmare scenario unfolding tonight.”

The Guerrero state government suspended the study and postponed the submission of the annual management report to focus on prevention work, according to a statement. “The most important thing is to strengthen coordination with the authorities (…) and the armed forces, with the clear aim of ensuring the well-being of the population and avoiding risks,” the bulletin quoted Governor Evelyn Salgado as saying.

The army conducted patrols in areas near the coast of Acapulco (about 380 kilometers south of Mexico City), where maritime activities and maritime navigation were suspended. Employees of companies near the beach rushed to remove furniture from hotels and restaurants, while the sky became cloudy, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent.

Residents and tourists watched rough seas at Acapulco Beach late Tuesday afternoon, hours before monster Hurricane Otis reached the Mexican resort | FRANCISCO ROBLES/AFP/METSOL METEOROLOGY

Local government officials were also reportedly suspended while citizens were called on to follow official recommendations. The government added that civil protection authorities are also carrying out inspections of places that will be used as shelters. Big box stores like North American Walmart and Mexico’s Aurrerá closed their doors Tuesday afternoon.

On October 9, 1997, Acapulco was hit by Hurricane Paulina, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm, killing more than two hundred people, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes in Mexican history.

The SMN keeps a distance of about 500 kilometers between Punta Maldonado and Zihuatanejo, in Guerrero, on alert, as well as part of the coast of the neighboring state of Oaxaca (south). It also issued warnings of heavy rain and winds in seven states in the south and center of the country.

With its extensive Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, Mexico is one of the countries most vulnerable to hurricanes, with at least a dozen occurring annually. In October 2015, the central Pacific Coast was hit by Hurricane Patricia, the strongest hurricane in local meteorological records with sustained winds of 325 km/h and gusts of up to 400 km/h, but it left only material damage when it struck. The coast is in a mountainous and uninhabited area.

However, in September 2013, another unprecedented phenomenon was recorded on the Mexican coast: at the same time, Tropical Storm Manuel entered the Pacific Ocean and Hurricane Ingrid entered the Gulf of Mexico, killing 157 people. In October 2005, Mexico’s Caribbean region was hit by Hurricane Wilma, the costliest hurricane in history, which struck Cozumel and then slowly pummeled Cancun and the Riviera Maya for more than 48 hours. It left eight people dead and losses exceeding $10 billion, especially in luxury hotels.