Hurricane Otis death toll hits 48: American and Canadian among dead in Acapulco as Navy is called in to retrieve 29 sunken vessels amid fears crew perished on board
At least 48 people have died after Hurricane Otis devastated the southern state of Guerrero on Mexico’s Pacific coast, the government said on Sunday.
Mexican Civil Defense reported that 43 of the deaths occurred in the resort town of Acapulco.
The Category 5 hurricane, the strongest on record for a landfalling tropical cyclone in the eastern Pacific Ocean, also caused the deaths of five residents in the nearby municipality of Coyuca de Benítez.
The dead included a U.S. citizen, a Briton and a Canadian, the Guerrero government said. The three individuals had lived in Acapulco for some time and were not considered tourists.
Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado said on Sunday that 47 people were still missing, according to figures from the attorney general’s office.
Firefighters and divers searched for bodies near sunken boats near a yacht club in Acapulco on Saturday after the passage of Hurricane Otis, which killed 43 people in the resort town and five more in the municipality of Coyuca de Benítez.
Aerial view of yachts scattered across Acapulco, Mexico, after Hurricane Otis devastated the resort town last week
Search and rescue efforts were underway Monday as Mexico’s Navy minister sent a ship that will serve as a hospital and soup kitchen.
The Navy also attempted to search for bodies from 29 boats that sank in Acapulco Bay when Hurricane Otis made landfall last Wednesday.
Authorities expected the arrival of a ship equipped with a crane to remove the wreckage from the water.
At least 18 minors were flown from Guerrero on Monday to Mexico City’s XXI Century National Medical Center, Mexico’s Social Security Institute.
The children include several premature neonates suffering from perinatal asphyxia with tracheostomy.
People pick up goods from a shopping plaza in Acapulco that was damaged by Hurricane Otis
A church in Acapulco has been converted into a shelter for people directly affected by Hurricane Otis. The Category 5 hurricane killed 48 people and 47 are still missing
A volunteer receives humanitarian aid at a collection center in Acapulco on Sunday
The Mexican government said Sunday that Hurricane Otis left 48 dead and 47 missing
Estimates show that the cost of damage from the powerful storm could reach at least $15 billion. Volunteers and soldiers had cleared debris from the resort’s main promenade.
By Sunday, electricity had been restored to 58 percent of homes in Acapulco and water tanks were distributing water to remote neighborhoods.
The Mexican government has deployed 17,000 military forces to Acapulco to ensure security and assist with the distribution of food and supplies.
Emilia Rojas was among 150 residents who complained about having to wait several hours for water to be distributed in the La Frontera neighborhood.
“Look how many of us there are,” she said. ‘There are so many of us. This water won’t be enough.’
Perla Rubi said a cloud of fear hovered over her and the residents who showed up for the water distribution at 5 a.m. and heard people were being attacked.
‘Where is the government help?’ she said.
Families also held a funeral service for their loved ones in Acapulco on Sunday. Others visited the morgue to search for missing relatives and to identify bodies.
Mexican authorities on Sunday moved an injured child on a stretcher for transport to a medical facility outside the Pacific coast state of Guerrero. At least 18 minors had been airlifted to a hospital in Mexico City on Monday
Aerial photo taken Sunday of the devastation left by Hurricane Otis on Caleta Beach in Acapulco
People charge their cellphones at a church sheltering people affected by Hurricane Otis in the Mexican resort town of Acapulco
A man cycles in an area damaged by Hurricane Otis in Acapulco last week. Authorities increased the death toll to 48 on Sunday
Military personnel carry boxes of supplies into Acapulco International Airport on Sunday. The government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been criticized for what residents see as a slow response to get food and supplies to people affected by Hurricane Otis.
Katy Barrera, 30, said her aunt and three cousins were killed when mud and rocks fell from a mountain and buried them in their home. Her aunt’s husband is still missing.
“The water came in along with the rocks and mud and completely buried them,” said Barrera, whose mother and brother are also missing.
She joined local residents in complaining that the government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was more concerned about cleaning up the tourist area in Acapulco, where 80 percent of hotels suffered damage, rather than helping people in remote areas.
“There are a lot of people here in the mortuary who are entire families; families of six, families of four, even eight people,” Barrera said. “I would like to ask the authorities not to lie… a lot of people end up dead.”