After Hurricane ‘Otis’: the death toll in Mexico rises to 50

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 fmXrkB”>

Another thirty people are still missing, Guerrero state governor Evelyn Salgado announced Thursday during a joint press conference with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

A total of nearly 25,000 troops from the armed forces and National Guard were still on relief missions in Acapulco and the neighboring city of Coyuca de Benítez, according to Mexican Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval.

“Otis” struck the Pacific coast near Acapulco on the night of October 25 as a level five hurricane with sustained winds of nearly 170 miles per hour. It had developed unusually quickly from a tropical storm to a dangerous hurricane.

More than 270,000 apartments and houses were damaged and 80 percent of all hotels in the tourism-dependent region were affected, according to government figures. The electricity went out for days, resulting in looting.

The Mexican government has been accused of not adequately helping those affected. The government has now pledged more than 61 billion pesos (3.3 billion euros) for reconstruction. According to initial estimates, the storm caused economic damage of around 15 billion dollars (13.8 billion euros).

Acapulco was once known as a holiday destination for the international jet set. Due to rampant violence by criminal groups, it has lately been mainly residents of Mexico City and fewer and fewer tourists from abroad who have come to the city of about 800,000 inhabitants.

(SDA)

Source: Blick