At least 48 people have died after Hurricane Otis pounded Mexico’s southern Pacific Coast state of Guerrero, the government said Sunday.
Mexico’s civil defense reported that 43 of the deaths took place in the resort city of Acapulco.
The Category 5 hurricane, the strongest on record for a landfalling Eastern Pacific tropical cyclone, also caused the deaths of five residents in the nearby municipality of Coyuca de Benítez.
The dead include an American citizen, a Briton and a Canadian, the Guerrero government said. The three individuals had been living in Acapulco for some time and were not considered tourists.
Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado said Sunday that 47 people were still missing, according to figures reported by the state attorney general’s office.
Firefighters and scuba divers went on a search mission Saturday looking for bodies near sunken boats at a yacht club in Acapulco following the passage of Hurricane Otis, which left 43 people dead in the resort city and five more in the municipality of Coyuca de Benítez
Aerial view of yachts that were left scattered across Acapulco, Mexico, after Hurricane Otis slammed the resort town last week
Search and rescue efforts were ongoing Monday as the Mexican Secretary of the Navy dispatched a ship which will be serving as a hospital and soup kitchen.
The Navy was also making efforts to search for bodies from 29 boats that sunk in Acapulco Bay when Hurricane Otis made landfall last Wednesday.
Authorities expected the arrival of a ship equipped with a crane to remove the wreckage out of the water.
At least 18 minors had been airlifted from Guerrero to the XXI Century National Medical Center in Mexico City as of Monday, the Mexican Social Security Institute.
Some of the children include several premature newborns who are suffering from perinatal asphyxia with tracheostomy.
People recover goods from shopping plaza in Acapulco that was damaged by Hurricane Otis
An Acapulco church has been converted into a shelter for people who were directly affected by Hurricane Otis. The Category 5 hurricane left 48 people dead and 47 are still missing
A volunteer receives humanitarian aid at a collection center in Acapulco on Sunday
The Mexican government said Sunday that Hurricane Otis left 48 dead and 47 missing
Estimates show the cost of damage from the powerful storm could reach at least $15 billion. Volunteers and military personnel had cleared debris from the resort town’s main boulevard.
As of Sunday, electricity had been restored to 58 percent of homes in Acapulco and water tanks were distributing water to remote neighborhoods.
The Mexican government has deployed 17,000 armed forces members to Acapulco to ensure safety and to help with the distributing of food and supplies.
Emilia Rojas was among 150 residents who complained of waiting multiple hours for water to be handed out in the La Frontera neighborhood.
‘Look how many of us there are,’ she said. ‘We’re so many. This water isn’t going to be enough.’
Perla Rubi said a cloud of fear hovered over her and residents who showed up at 5am for the water handout and heard that people were being assaulted.
‘Where’s the government help?’ she said.
Families also held funeral service for their loved ones in Acapulco on Sunday. Others visited the morgue searching for missing relatives and to identify bodies.
Mexican authorities move an injured child on a stretcher for transport to a medical facility outside the Pacific coast state of Guerrero on Sunday. As of Monday, at least 18 minors had been airlifted to a hospital in Mexico City
Aerial shot taken Sunday of the destruction left behind by Hurricane Otis at Caleta Beach in Acapulco
People charge their cell phones in a church that shelters those affected by Hurricane Otis in the Mexican resort town of Acapulco
A man rides his bicycle in a zone that was damaged by Hurricane Otis in Acapulco last week. Authorities raised the death toll to 48 on Sunday
Military personnel carry boxes with supplies at Acapulco International Airport on Sunday. The administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been criticized for what residents perceive to be a slow response to get food and supplies to people who were affected by Hurricane Otis
Katy Barrera, 30, said her aunt and three cousins were killed when mud and rock tumbled down from a mountain and buried them in their home. Her aunt’s husband is still missing.
‘The water came in with the rocks, the mud and totally buried them, said Barrera, whose mother and brother are also missing.
She joined residents from neighborhoods in complaining that the administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was worried more about clearing up the tourist area in Acapulco, where 80 percent of hotels suffered damages instead of helping people in outlying areas.
‘There are many, many people here at the (morgue) that are entire families; families of six, families of four, even eight people,’ Barrera said. ‘I want to ask authorities not to lie … there are a lot of people who are arriving dead.’