Hurricane Otis gains strength. According to the latest report from the National Meteorological Service (SMN), in the last few hours, the cyclone intensified to category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale and recorded sustained winds of 260 kilometers per hour (km/h) and gusts of 315 km/h. . It is expected to continue advancing through the Mexican Pacific to impact the state of Guerrero.
The progression of Hurricane Otis has been meteoric. In less than 12 hours, he has gone through all five categories. In addition, the phenomenon registers maximum sustained winds of 260 km/h, gusts of 315 km/h and is moving towards the north-northwest at 15 km/h.
Mexico’s SMN predicted that Hurricane Otis will make landfall during the early hours of Wednesday, in the vicinity of Acapulco, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. “The hurricane is forecast to impact as a category 4 hurricane with winds of 210 to 250 km/h between the municipalities of Tecpan de Galeana and Acapulco on Wednesday between 04:00 and 06:00 hours (10:00 and 12:00 GMT),” he detailed in a news conference. the coordinator of the SMN, Alejandra Méndez Girón, presses.
He added that the dangerous quadrant of the system will affect the municipalities of Acapulco, Coyuca de Benítez, Benito Juárez, Atoyac de Álvarez, Técpan de Galeana, San Marcos, Florencio Villareal, Petatlán and Zihuatanejo.
Méndez Girón indicated that the wide circulation of the system “will cause intense to occasional torrential rains in Guerrero; and very strong to intense in Oaxaca, reinforcing the probability of intervals of showers with heavy occasional rains in Michoacán, State of Mexico, Morelos, Puebla and the Mexico City”.
“Such rains could cause reduced visibility, landslides, flooding or flooding, as well as an increase in the levels of rivers and streams,” warned the official, who also recalled that wind gusts exceeding 200 km/h and waves of 8 to 10 meters high on the coasts of Guerrero and Oaxaca.
The authorities recognize that it is unusual for such an intense hurricane to reach an area as densely populated as Acapulco, which could cause significant material and human damage.
In fact, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked the inhabitants of the Costa Grande of Guerrero to move to shelters or safe places due to the impact of the hurricane.
“The DN-III-E Plan and the Marine Plan are underway in coordination with the state government. Agree to move to shelters, stay in safe places: away from rivers, streams, ravines and be alert, without becoming complacent. We are also pending,” the president explained on his X account, formerly Twitter.
The cyclone arrives just days after Norma hit western Mexico, leaving three dead in the state of Sinaloa. Hurricane Otis is the fifteenth named cyclone of this season in the Pacific, where Adrian, Beatriz, Calvin, Dora, Eugene, Fernanda, Greg, Hilary, Irwin, Jova, Kenneth, Lidia, Max and Norma formed.
