In Mexico, Acapulco partially devastated after the hurricane, its inhabitants and tourists stranded

The famous seaside resort of Acapulco, a city of 780,000 inhabitants in the southwest of Mexico, was partially devastated on Wednesday, October 25, after the passage of a powerful hurricane during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to first images transmitted by the Mexican media.

The authorities have so far made no mention of any casualties, but residents and tourists find themselves cut off from the rest of the country. They cannot reach their loved ones due to the breakdown of telephone and Internet communications. Hotels and shopping centers were heavily affected.

“The material damage is very significant. We have no water, we have no light, but we are safe and sound”declared to a channel of the Televisa group Citlali Portillo, administrator of a residence for tourists. “The building was moving like it was an earthquake!” »she added. “There are no planes. There are no buses between Mexico City and Acapulco »also noted a photographer from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Hurricane Otis, force 5, made landfall on Wednesday shortly after midnight local time, with wind gusts of up to 315 km/h, according to the Mexican government. It had formed very quickly within a few hours off the Pacific coast of Mexico. It weakened as it progressed into the hinterland.

Hotels destroyed and tourists stranded

“They won’t let us out. We are isolated. I hope someone close to me will see me so they know I’m okay”testified Nely Palacios, a Mexican tourist. “We were about to rest. We were on the ninth floor of the Ritz Hotel. The windows started to shake », she said. She said many people were injured by broken windows.

The images show destroyed buildings and hotels reduced to their simple cement structure, as well as scenes of looting. The windows of the iconic Princess hotel were shattered and the building was partially destroyed, according to a video posted on social networks. Few people were driving along Acapulco’s central Miguel-Aleman Avenue late in the afternoon.

Taken by surprise, the residents protected themselves as best they could. “We had to close the doors with what we found”, Eric Hernandez told AFP. Living in a nearby village, this 24-year-old young man was accompanying a relative to a clinic in Acapulco when the hurricane hit. “We were able to see how he [l’ouragan] took away the cars »he added as he walked home. “The floor of the clinic was moving. »

The President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (“AMLO”), attempted to travel to Acapulco by land. His trip was delayed due to landslides. The highway he took was blocked by mud, water and uprooted trees, the AFP team noted. “We will ensure that [l’autoroute] be reopened as soon as possible”AMLO told journalists stranded with him.

“The most important thing is to take care of the affected populations. We still don’t have damage assessments, because there are no communications.”for her part declared the national coordinator of Civil Protection, Laura Velazquez, to the Milenio television channel.

At daybreak on Wednesday, a large part of Acapulco was without electricity following a preventive cut, according to local media. The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE, public) indicated that it had restored power on Wednesday to 40% of the 504,000 users affected in the Acapulco region.

Three dead after the recent passage of Hurricane Norma

The city of Acapulco was hit on October 9, 1997 by Hurricane Paulina, which was a Category 4 hurricane when it made landfall. Paulina killed more than 200 people, one of the most serious natural disasters for Mexico outside of earthquakes.

Last week, Hurricane Norma killed three people a little further north. Norma made landfall twice, first in the Baja California peninsula, then in the state of Sinaloa.

Caught between the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico is exposed to hurricanes during the season which runs from May to October-November. A dozen depressions per year are likely to turn into more or less devastating hurricanes depending on their point of entry. The most powerful ever recorded, Patricia, in October 2015, with winds blowing at 325 km/h, however, only caused material damage because it entered the territory through an uninhabited mountainous area.

In September 2013, Hurricane Ingrid, in the Gulf, and Tropical Storm Manuel, in the Pacific, took the country by storm. “Their interaction constituted a historic phenomenon that had not occurred since 1958”according to the authorities who had recorded 157 deaths including victims of landslides.

With the warming of the ocean surface, the frequency of the most intense cyclones (or hurricanes or typhoons depending on the region) increases. According to the International Group of Climate Experts (IPCC), the proportion of particularly intense cyclones (category 4 and 5) should therefore increase by 10% compared to the pre-industrial era with a warming of +1.5°C. . Due to rising sea levels and marine flooding, more than a billion people will live in at-risk coastal cities by 2050, according to the IPCC.