(Acapulco) The number of people who lost their lives following the passage of the hurricane Otiscategory 5, which hit Mexico last Wednesday, now numbers 43, the governor of the state of Guerrero, Evelyn Salgado, said on Sunday.
Mme Salgado said in a post on the X platform on Sunday that the number of missing had also risen to 36, up from 10 the day before.
On Saturday, authorities recorded 39 deaths following the tragedy. Otis landed early Wednesday on the Pacific coast of Mexico, with devastating winds of 266 km/h, after gaining intensity so quickly that the population had little time to prepare.
In Acapulco, families began burying the dead on Sunday, continuing to search for essential goods as officials and volunteers cleared the streets.
Lines at gas stations stretched for blocks, filled with citizens wanting to get fuel, and a few lucky families found essential groceries as a more organized relief operation took shape four days after the storm passed.
Soldiers and volunteers worked along Acapulco’s main tourist strip. They cut down palm trees and metal panels that had fallen to the ground. Cellphone signals have been partially recovered near some of the most luxurious hotels, and authorities have installed a station allowing people to charge their phones.
However, on the outskirts of the city, the neighborhoods remained in total chaos. The government presence observed in the tourist center was not visible in other sectors. With no signal, no water, and no food, citizens, young and old, trudged through mud and flooded streets to get to large warehouses where someone had found food.
Authorities said the military presence would rise to 15,000 people in the area, and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called on the armed forces to establish checkpoints in the city to prevent thefts.
The president said the national power company told him that service had been restored to 55 percent of customers in the affected area, but more than 200,000 homes and businesses remained without power.
The federal civil protection agency recorded 220,000 homes damaged by the storm, he said.