Scenes of the Destruction in Acapulco After Hurricane Otis

The strongest-ever hurricane to hit the Pacific Coast of Mexico came out of nowhere. In less than 24 hours, Hurricane Otis grew from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane before making landfall in Acapulco on Wednesday, leaving 27 dead and four missing, according to Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “We were prepared; however, it was something exceptional and unexpected,” he said on Thursday.

The resort city of nearly 1 million was largely without power after Otis struck the coast with a wind speed near 165 miles per hour. Videos of the aftermath already show hotels and high-rises gutted by the intense winds, but the full level of damage is still unclear due to power outages and downed roads leading to the city and surrounding areas.

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October 25, 2023

Acapulco, Mexico

Devastating images coming out of Acapulco, Mexico after Hurricane Otis made landfall as a category five storm. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 160 mph.

We wish these people better days. pic.twitter.com/wXyc2gBRXh

— Joseph Pino (@JosephPino_) October 26, 2023

At least 27 people were killed after Hurricane #Otis slammed the #Acapulco, Mexico, area on Wednesday.

Here’s a look at some of the damage: pic.twitter.com/39lXxzw4FX

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) October 26, 2023

Acapulco Diamante, una zona de desastre, jamás pensé verlo de esta manera !!!

pic.twitter.com/bQkUW5ffdF

— ???????????????????????? ℂ????????????????????????????́ ℂ???????????????????????????????? (@acastagne) October 26, 2023

98 de 384 radio bases en Acapulco, #Guerrero ya funcionan para hacer llamadas de la compañía @Telcel tras el paso del huracán Otis y el recuento de los daños continúa. pic.twitter.com/H9HmkKmpCQ

— Irving (@IrvingPineda) October 26, 2023

Acapulco took a direct hit from the Category 5 eye wall with little advance notice. “We thought it was going to enter through Acapulco or in Tepa, in that coastal fringe, but it hit more in Acapulco,” President López Obrador
said Thursday.

#Acapulco #HuracanOtis 24:00 Hotel Mundo Imperial pic.twitter.com/dbePjwNimK

— Jorge Cirett (@JorgeCirett) October 25, 2023

Saliendo del #HuracanOtis en el hotel Mundo Imperial en #Acapulco pic.twitter.com/MuXIzARvcR

— Jorge Cirett (@JorgeCirett) October 25, 2023

????#HuracanOtis .. así quedo la habitación pic.twitter.com/a5yrPQG7Nh

— Tania Partida (@partida_tania) October 25, 2023

Thousands of military and national guard members have been deployed to the city and surrounding areas to aid in the recovery effort.

Satellite loop of Hurricane Otis explosively intensifying from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane in less than 24 hours, courtesy of the GOES-18 satellite mesoscale floater: pic.twitter.com/ZRxtWBhZ80

— Tomer Burg (@burgwx) October 25, 2023

"This can't be"
"This can't be true"
"Acapulco has been destroyed"pic.twitter.com/UHVrzPhyVe

— Leon Simons (@LeonSimons8) October 26, 2023

La cara de #Acapulco tras el paso del #HuracanOtis. Hasta el momento se reportan 27 muertos y cuatro personas desaparecidas. pic.twitter.com/QXPXK7ZJ8O

— José Luis Morales (@JLMNoticias) October 26, 2023

The storm, which weakened after it hit the mountains of western Mexico, was a terrible example of the rapid intensification of hurricanes, which is becoming more frequent as ocean temperatures rise. Hurricane models severely miscalculated how Otis would intensify as it traveled over water that was around 88 degrees Fahrenheit:

Just to emphasize how poorly hurricane & global models performed for Hurricane Otis... here's the intensity forecasts initialized 24 hours ago, with the dotted black line showing verification: pic.twitter.com/DN5pf7lcOS

— Tomer Burg (@burgwx) October 25, 2023

“Imagine starting your day expecting a stiff breeze and some rain, and overnight you get catastrophic 165 mph winds,” University of Miami climatologist Brian McNoldy wrote on X.