Category 5 hurricane Otis makes landfall near Acapulco, US NHC says
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By Javier Verdin
Oct 25 (Reuters) – Otis has made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico, as a Category 5 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Wednesday.
The hurricane was located about 5 miles (8 km) south of Acapulco packing maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (270 km/h), the NHC added.
🚨 A nightmare scenario for southern Mexico this evening as Category 5 Major Hurricane #Otis heads toward landfall near #Acapulco with winds of 270 km/h (165 mph), pressure 923 mb, and bringing potentially catastrophic storm surge. pic.twitter.com/gp3j91wQId
Mexico’s southern coast braced for Hurricane Otis on Wednesday as the Category 5 storm barreled towards the beach resort of Acapulco, with the potential to cause “catastrophic damage,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The storm was expected to come ashore between 4 a.m. (1000 GMT) and 6 a.m. (1200 GMT), bringing high winds and heavy rain. Mexico’s national water agency CONAGUA warned of six-to-eight meter surf off Guerrero state, home to Acapulco, and also off parts of Oaxaca state.
In Guerrero, authorities were preparing storm shelters and the national guard said it was helping to prepare for rescues and evacuations.
This is an extreme, unexpected situation in #Mexico as #Hurricane Otis incredibly intensified from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane in about 12 hours, just before landfall near #Acapulco.
The defense ministry enacted a disaster plan ahead of the storm’s arrival, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on social media late on Tuesday, as soldiers patrolled Acapulco’s emptying beaches.
The storm could bring up to 20 inches (51 cm) of rain in parts of Guerrero and neighboring Oaxaca, with the possibility of flash floods and mudslides, a “potentially catastrophic” storm surge, and “life-threatening” surf and rip current conditions, authorities said.
Schools across Guerrero canceled classes for Wednesday ahead of Otis’ arrival, Governor Evelyn Salgado said on social media.
View of strong waves on a beach in Acapulco, Mexico. Hurricane Otis, which is moving through the Mexican Pacific towards the state of Guerrero, has rapidly intensified to category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale and may reach category 5 in the next few hours, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported. EPA-EFE/David Guzman
