Mexico
Hurricane Otis damages 80 percent of hotels in Acapulco
Flooded streets in Acapulco, famous for its cliff divers and luxury hotels. photo
© Marco Ugarte/AP
The international jet set once romped here. Today fewer tourists come from abroad – but Acapulco is still a popular holiday destination. “Otis” has now caused a lot of destruction.
Hurricane Otis has hit most of the hotels in the Mexican seaside resort Acapulco on the Pacific coast damaged. Around 80 percent of the hotels were affected, said the governor of the southern state of Guerrero, Evelyn Salgado, on Thursday (local time). According to authorities, the destructive force of the highest level 5 hurricane cost at least 27 people their lives. Another four people were missing.
According to media reports, over 100,000 vacationers were in Acapulco when the violent cyclone made landfall on Wednesday. Stranded tourists should now be taken out of the city by bus, as Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said. The highway between Acapulco and the capital Mexico City, around 480 kilometers away, was reopened after cleanup work. The airport in the well-known tourist resort, however, remained closed due to damage.
Acapulco is famous for its cliff divers and luxury hotels. The holiday destination is also very popular with low-budget tourists. The international jet set once stayed there. Because of rampant violent crime, fewer and fewer tourists have recently come from abroad. Today, residents of Mexico City in particular spend their holidays or long weekends in the seaside resort.