The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that a massive Category 5 hurricane made landfall in Mexico’s Pacific beach resort of Acapulco early Wednesday, threatening to cause catastrophic devastation.
The National Hurricane Center reported that Hurricane Otis had maximum sustained winds of 165 miles (265 km) per hour when it made landfall.
As it approached shore, the storm quickly developed to the most powerful category on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
“Catastrophic damage likely where the core of the hurricane moves onshore”, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned.
On Social media, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged people to seek refuge in emergency shelters rather than near rivers, streams, and ravines.
Earlier, soldiers were seen patrolling Acapulco’s beach, where visitors had taken advantage of the calm before the storm.
“We won’t be running any tours today”, said Carolina Torres, expressing hope that Otis might weaken before making landfall.
“If it hits us, that’s very serious for us”, she continued.
The National Hurricane Center predicted up to 20 inches (51 centimetres) of rain in Guerrero and parts of neighboring Oaxaca state.
NHC predicted, “This rainfall will produce flash and urban flooding, along with mudslides in areas of higher terrain”.
“A potentially catastrophic storm surge is expected to produce life-threatening coastal flooding”, NHC continued.
Every year, hurricanes affect Mexico’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts, mainly between May and November, though few reach Category 5 strength.
Hurricane Pauline slammed Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 4 storm in October 1997, killing over 200 people, some of whom were at Acapulco.
It was one of the most deadly hurricanes to hit Mexico.
Patricia became the most intense hurricane ever recorded in October 2015, pounding Mexico’s Pacific coast with sustained winds of 200 miles per hour.
However, because it made landfall in a sparsely populated inhabited hilly location, the storm inflicted primarily material damage and deaths.
Just this week, Tropical Storm Norma killed three people, including a toddler, after making landfall for a second time in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.
Norma made its first landfall on the Baja California peninsula on Saturday before moving back out to sea and crashing into the mainland.
Hurricane Lidia, an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane, slammed the western states of Jalisco and Nayarit earlier this month, killing two people.
In August, storm Hilary, which was also a Category 4 hurricane at one time, killed one person and damaged infrastructure as it hit Baja California.
According to scientists, storms are becoming more powerful as the planet warms due to climate change.
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