Communication in Acapulco remains down making it difficult to assess damage from Hurricane Otis

• Communication remains down in Acapulco.
• President AMLO tries to assess damage from Hurricane Otis.
• The area is devastated.

Acapulco, which is located in the state of Guerrero and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico, is in a state of emergency.

Hurricane Otis, which made landfall on Wednesday as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, has devastated the area.

Although almost a day has passed since the hurricane hit the region, no official report has been issued on the damage.

Otis intensified rapidly, escalating from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in less than 12 hours, according to reports.

Tropical storm becomes Hurrican Otis in Acapulco

Hurricane Otis headed towards the coast of Guerrero and surrounding areas, where it wreaked havoc.

Multiple videos on social media uploaded by people who were in the city showed extensive property damage.

Hotels, located on the Coastal Highway, which is right on Pacific Ocean, were decimated.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reported that communication had been completely lost in the area.

Devastation and communication challenges

So far, telecommunications have not been restored in Acapulco, according to EFE.

Otis also left more than half a million people without electricity, according to Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE).

Although the hurricane weakened to a low pressure storm after making landfall in Michoacán, rains continued to pound the region.

President López Obrador announced that he was heading to Acapulco to assess the damage caused by this terrible storm.

Efforts to restore electricity in Acapulco

Unfortunately, AMLO’s trip was delayed because roads leading to the city were blocked.

Members of his cabinet are in the affected area, including the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Navy and the coordinator of National Civil Protection.

In less than a day, Otis went from being a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane, the highest level.

The lack of electricity also affected seismic alert services in the states of Michoacán, Guerrero and Oaxaca.

Consequences for communications and future challenges

The Sistema de Alerta Sísmica Mexicano (Sasmex) reported that the impact of Otis damaged 27 sensors in the region.

According to the EFE agency, this could affect the ability to issue earthquake alerts in the event of future earthquakes.

Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) is working to restore power supply in Guerrero.

Strong winds from Otis collapsed 58 high-voltage structures and left more than half a million people without power.

Lessons learned from Otis

So far, the CFE has managed to restore service to approximately 40% of affected users.

The lack of electricity has also impacted telecommunications services and caused damage to their infrastructure.

The CFE is working on the repair of high voltage structures and on the rehabilitation of the medium and low voltage network in the affected areas.

Once high lines are restored, the process of restoring the entire power supply is expected to accelerate.

The situation is a reminder of the importance of preparation and rapid response in case of natural disasters, noted EFE and N Más.