Otis' Death Toll Jumps To 39 In Mexico

 Jan Wesner Childs and Sean Breslin

Published: October 27, 2023

M​exico's death toll was raised to 39 on Saturday from Category 5 Hurricane Otis' strike on the country's southwestern coast earlier in the week.

Some victims have yet to be identified, according to Mexico Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez. Ten people are reported missing.

T​he country's defense secretary said an "air bridge" had been set up between Acapulco and Mexico City to bring supplies and medical staff in and take tourists out. More than 100 buses also will be used to evacuate people from the resort city, which sustained heavy damage from Otis.

(​MORE: What Our Experts Say About Hurricane Otis)

G​as station lines wrapped around the block on Saturday according to the Associated Press, and people talked of rationing food and water as municipal pumps were still without power. Residents have been out in the streets since after the storm hit, looking for loved ones, aid and basic necessities.

Elizabeth Morales show the damaged to her home after Hurricane Otis ripped through Acapulco, Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. The hurricane that strengthened swiftly before slamming into the coast early Wednesday as a Category 5 storm has killed at least 27 people as it devastated Mexico’s resort city of Acapulco.

Hundreds of military personnel, medical teams and rescue crews were sent to the affected areas. There were some reports that they lacked the proper equipment to clear roads of mud and debris.

“It took us a while to get there because of the rain and the remnants of the hurricane,” López Obrador said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “The highway was blocked by collapses and landslides. But we arrived with equipment and machinery.”

It wasn't immediately clear where the deaths occurred. López Obrador said one of the victims was a soldier killed when a wall of his home collapsed. Three of the missing were Navy personnel.

(​MORE: Aerial Footage Of Damage In Acapulco)

The limited information, photos and video coming from the city show severe damage to structures, including many of the hotels and high-rises in tourist areas, and flooding that inundated city streets. Windows were blown out, roofs ripped off and vehicles crushed.

Auto parts worker Pablo Navarro rode out the storm in a 13th-story hotel room on Acapulco's beachfront.

“I took shelter in the bathroom, and thankfully the door held,” Navarro told the AP. “But there were some rooms where the wind blew out the windows and the doors.”

A street is strewn with debris after Hurricane Otis ripped through Acapulco, Mexico, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023.

I​n more rural areas, mud and debris washed across roads and trapped people in their homes.

More than 34,500 evacuated families were in 631 temporary shelters across affected areas in Mexico, according to a report compiled by the European Commission's Civil Protection And Humanitarian Aid Operations.

P​hotos posted by Mexico's civil protection agency showed utility workers making repairs but didn't give details on the overall number of outages or how long repairs might take.

There was also no word on when communications will be fully restored.

Some said no warning was provided about the Category 5 storm, and in some hotels, guests were not moved to safer shelter.

"We laid down on the floor, and some between beds," Jakob Sauczuk, who was staying with friends at a beachfront hotel, told the AP. "We prayed a lot."

F​or Wednesday's live updates page, click here.

More from our continuing coverage:

Otis Is Latest In Unusually Strong October Storms

W​atch Otis Completely Vanish Hours After Landfall

S​tudy: Hurricanes Are Now Twice As Likely To Grow Into Monster Storms

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.