ACAPULCO, Mexico – The death toll from Hurricane Otis, the Category 5 storm that battered the Mexican Pacific resort town of Acapulco last week, has risen to nearly 100, authorities in the state of Guerrero said Monday.
Otis lashed Acapulco with winds of 165 miles per hour (266 km per hour) on Wednesday, flooding the city, ripping roofs off homes, hotels and other businesses, submerging vehicles, and cutting communications and road and air links.
The looting comes as the city’s nearly 900,000 residents become increasingly desperate for food and water.
Evelyn Salgado, governor of the home state of Acapulco in Guerrero, said 45 people were confirmed dead and 47 others were missing, citing figures from the state prosecutor.
On Sunday afternoon, Mexico’s federal civil protection authorities said there were 48 deaths, comprising 43 in Acapulco and five in nearby Coyuca de Benitez.
Among the dead were a US citizen, a Briton and a Canadian, according to Guerrero’s government.
Fishermen and workers aboard tour yachts gathered at Playa Honda in Acapulco on Sunday evening to search for missing colleagues and friends, officials worried not doing enough.
A man walks through rubble and mud, after Hurricane Otis, in the Progreso neighborhood of Acapulco, Mexico on Monday.REUTERS
Luis Alberto Medina, a fisherman, said he was looking for six people who worked at the port.
“It was absolutely horrible,” Medina said. “We’ve found someone else’s body.”
FEAR OF ATTACK
Governor Salgado gave the latest figures by phone with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who during a regular government press conference urged local authorities to ensure basic goods are delivered to the residents of Acapulco.
People bathe and clean their belongings in the El Camaron river on Monday.REUTERS
The cost of damage from the typhoon could reach up to $15 billion according to estimates, and Mexico has sent about 17,000 members of the armed forces to maintain order and help distribute large quantities of food and supplies in Acapulco.
ATM machines have also been hit in the city.
Two service centers will be set up at the military development bank branch in Acapulco to allow people to withdraw cash, the finance ministry said on Monday.
Juan Gregorio Torres walks through the rubble of his home, after Hurricane Otis on Monday.REUTERS
Access to food and water remains challenging, and retail group ANTAD on Monday called on the government to step up efforts to prevent looting at shops run by its members. Members include Soriana and Chedraui.
“We condemn acts of robbery by residents,” said ANTAD in a statement. “There is no justification for that.”
A line of about 150 people waited for water provided by local authorities down a muddy street in the La Frontera neighborhood on Sunday evening, as residents holding empty water containers bemoaned the hours-long wait.
“Look how many of us there are,” said one of them, Emilia Rojas, looking around in despair. “There are many of us. This water will not be enough.”
On a nearby street, Perla Rubi said the long wait was uncomfortable, given how desperate the crowd was.
“We have been here since dawn, since five in the morning, risking being robbed, because now they are attacking people in the streets,” he said. “Where is the government help?”
The disaster struck Acapulco nearly seven months before Mexico’s upcoming presidential election, and Lopez Obrador on Monday reiterated his claim that critics attacked his response to Otis and boosted his influence for electoral reasons.
His fiery denunciations sparked criticism that the president downplayed the gravity of the disaster.
Report by Jose Decavele; Additional reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Isabel Woodford; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Tomasz Janowski.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
