The strongest Pacific Hurricane on record, Hurricane Otis, has caused major damage in Acapulco, where it made landfall Wednesday as a Category 5 storm. The incredibly fast-intensifying storm hit Mexico's Pacific coast and has left the area in a devastating mess that triggered mudslides, flooded streets and roads and knocked out most communications.
The Associated Press is reporting that tourist area the Diamond Zone, looked to be mostly underwater.
Andrew Dawson, President of Sunwing Vacations, shared a Destination Update from their partners in Acapulco with TravelPulse Canada.
"It has been difficult to gather information concerning Acapulco as the storm has caused severe damage to infrastructure, so communication by phone, email or WhatsApp has been very challenging to say the least. We have been able to communicate with our Partner in ACA who indicates that they are all fine, but Acapulco was severely slammed by Otis with structural damage and severe impact on the city's infrastructure, which is difficult to assess at the moment as Hurricane conditions persist in the area.
As soon as we manage to gather more information and have a more detailed assessment, we will share it with you all.
In my experience with Category 4-5 hurricanes, we should expect impacts of catastrophic proportions in ACA."
CNN reports the intensification of Hurricane Otis is among the fastest forecasters have ever seen: its top-end windspeed increased by 115 mph in 24 hours. Only one other storm, Hurricane Patricia in 2015, exceeded Otis’ rapid intensification and landfall speed in East Pacific records, with a 120-mph increase in 24 hours.
A storm of this intensity is also very rare on Mexico's eastern Pacific coast; Hurricane Max hit 100kms away from Acapulco in 2017.
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