Hurricane Otis – latest: Fears grow for people still missing in Acapulco after storm killed 27

Mexico’s president cut disaster fund two years before Hurricane Otis

Two years before Hurricane Otis ripped through Guerrero State, Mexico cut its disaster relief fund.

The decision has left much uncertainty on how the region will recover from the Category 5 storm which left 27 people dead and at least $10billion in damage in the city of Acapulco and neighboring villages.

Mexico’s Fund for Natural Disasters, known as Fonden, was set up in the late Nineties, taking a small portion of the federal budget in order to rapidly respond to natural disasters. It was widely admired as a progressive move.

Martha McHardy reports:

Bishops in Mexico have urged assistance for those affected by Hurricane Otis after the Category 5 hurricane ripped through part of the country on Sunday.

Hurricane Otis brought 165mph winds and torrential rainfall to Acapulco on Wednesday, leaving thousands without water and electricity.

“We are aware of the pain and anguish that overwhelms thousands of families who have lost their homes, property and livelihoods in these disaster areas. Many localities suffered serious damage to infrastructure, and found themselves prevented from accessing essential services,” the Mexican bishops’ conference said in a statement.

“In these difficult times, we call for unity and fraternity among Mexicans. We urge the provision of generous assistance for those affected, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. May no one remain indifferent to the suffering of others,” the statement continued.

Hurricane Otis slammed into Mexico early on Wednesday as the strongest ever storm to make landfall on the country’s west coast.

Otis went from a Category 1 to Category 5 hurricane in just 12 hours — the fastest rate ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The storm made landfall near Acapulco and is moving north-northwest through the country.

As global temperatures increase and sea levels rise, tropical cyclones - the catch-all term for hurricanes and typhoons - are expected to become more powerful and destructive, scientists say.

Louise Boyle reports:

Residents in Acapulco have reportedly had to resort to looting for necessary medications and basic provisions in the wake of Hurricane Otis, which devastated the city when it made landfall Wedensday as a Category 5 storm.

Acapulco residents have complained that they’ve received little in the way of government assistance in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

“We came to get ice because we have meat and fish at home and it’s gonna go off,” Olivia Bautista, 48, told NPR outside a convenience store in the city. “I’ve never stolen anything in my life. This is so terrible. We have money but there’s nowhere to buy.”

NPR noted in its reporting that its team on the ground did not see a single store open to sell provisions to residents.

Another man told the outlet that he had spent hours trekking around the partially-destroyed city in search of medication for aunt, who was recently released from a cancer ward.

“People are desperate but they are taking whatever they can, even if they don’t need it,” Manuel Magallón told NPR. “My aunt really needs this medication. It’s disappointing.”

Residents in Acapulco expressed their desperation two days after Hurricane Otis made landfall as a Category 5 storm, leaving much of the city without power and many with no means of buying food or procuring potable water.

“Nobody has helped us,” José Castro, a 29-year-old graphic designer who is stranded in the city told the LA Times. “Really, this has been the worst experience of my life.”

Amalia Garrido, 63, who was visiting the city to celebrate her grandson’s birthday when the storm hit, said she was “afraid.”

There is no water here, there is no food,” she told the LA Times. “People are stealing everywhere.”

She recalled seeing the destruction of the city’s hotel district in the wake of the storm.

“It makes you want to cry because everything is so ugly, so destroyed,” she said.

Jose Andreas, a world-renown chef known for providing food and assistance in the wake of global disasters through his World Central Kitchen program, announced on Friday he was headed to Acapulco to assist in the relief efforts underway.

“@WCKitchen on the way now to support after #HurricaneOtis! We’re bringing helicopters full of sandwiches & water. Its still very early after the storm & not possible to land in Acapulco..but we’ll do whatever we can..fly..drive to help communities immediately! #ChefsForMexico,“ Mr Andreas tweeted on Friday.

An air bridge between Acapulco and Mexico City will be set up on Friday to evacuate tourists, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport said, after announcing the control tower at Acapulco International Airport was back in operation.

It comes amid an exodus of tourists from Acapulco after a Category 5 hurricane ripped through the city on Wednesday, destroying homes and 80 per cent of the hotels in the region.

Two vessels are also en route to Acapulco carrying two water purification plants, a mobile kitchenette, four power plants, and two motor pumps, the Mexican Secretary of the Navy (Semar) said, after 165mph winds left residents without electricity or water.

Two days after Hurricane Otis made landfall in Acapulco as a Category 5 storm, hundreds are reportedly still searching for their missing loved ones among the rubble.

Arturo Villalobos told Noticias Telemundo that he was still trying to contact his wife and four children.

“I’m in another state, I can’t do anything,” he said. “I just want to know how they are.”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said “even though the death of any person is unfortunate, there weren’t very many,” during a press conference on Friday. The official death count from the storm has not changed from the initial report of 27 killed, but there have been reports of unrecovered bodies in parts of the city that may eventually add to that count, according to NBC News.

In the meantime, those with missing loved ones in the city have taken to online messaging platforms to post the names and photos of indivudals in the hope that other posters have seen them alive in the city.