This is the area that suffered the most damage from Hurricane Otis. Mr. Obrador himself returned to Acapulco on October 29 to direct recovery efforts with the involvement of thousands of soldiers and police.
According to AP, Otis has transformed into a superstorm in a record short time and scientists are still struggling to find answers. Initially, Otis was classified only as a tropical storm, but after only 24 hours, it made landfall near the city of Acapulco on October 25 with winds of 266 km/h. It is the strongest typhoon ever to hit the eastern Pacific. Notably, within just 12 hours, the storm’s strength more than doubled, with winds from 113 km/h to 257 km/h, also a record.
Guerrero State – An area of the city of Acapulco, Mexico was devastated by Hurricane Otis on October 29. Photo: Reuters
Some scientists say that the above phenomenon matches the trend of storms becoming more rapid in recent decades due to warmer ocean waters caused by climate change. According to Kerry Emanu-El, an expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), hurricane prediction models have failed. Hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy of the University of Miami (USA) said that the initial forecast that Otis was just a tropical storm surprised everyone. Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Center, analyzed that Otis’ unexpected strengthening occurred because it encountered a more favorable environment than anticipated, such as both warm waters and moving winds. In the right direction and at the right height.
