Fears are growing for the four people missing in Acapulco after a “nightmare” Category-5 hurricane ripped through the city.
At least 27 people are dead and four people are missing after Hurricane Otis brought 165mph winds and torrential rainfall to Acapulco on Wednesday.
Flora Contreras Santos, a housewife who lives on the outskirts of the city, told of her fear after her three-year-old neighbor was swept away from her mother in a mudslide.
“The mountain came down on them. The mud took her from the mother’s arms,” she told the Associated Press. “We need help, the mother is in bad shape and we can’t find the girl.”
Meanwhile, Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado Pineda announced the establishment of a WhatsApp line to help people contact their families after communications went down in Acapulco on Wednesday.
Otis is the strongest ever storm to make landfall on Mexico’s west coast. The hurricane underwent explosive intensification from a Category 1 to Category 5 in just 12 hours, catching forecasters by surprise. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) described it as a “nightmare scenario” for the region.
