The death toll from this week’s deadly hurricane in the Mexican seaside town of Acapulco has increased to 39, according to the government, as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador accused his opponents of exaggerating the scope of the devastation.
On Wednesday, Hurricane Otis pummeled Acapulco with gusts of 165 miles per hour (266 kilometers per hour), flooding the city, knocking roofs off homes, businesses, and hotels, sinking automobiles, and cutting communications, road, and air links.
So yet, the administration has revealed scant information about the dead and injured. The current death toll increased from 27 previously reported, with four individuals still missing as a result of Otis.
Lopez Obrador used social media to broadcast a 24-minute video updating the people on the situation. He spent much of it blasting those he accused of trying to abuse the issue ahead of the presidential race next year.
“They circle like vultures, they don’t care about people’s pain, they want to hurt us, for there to have been lots of deaths,” he went on to say.
Lopez Obrador, 69, claimed the toll had been overstated by media sources aiming to discredit his government, but that Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez will offer an update on casualties “without lying.”
“Let her tell us… how many people have really lost their lives so far,” he added, adding that his administration was doing more than any government had “ever done” to deal with the fallout.
According to Rodriguez, the deceased were thought to have drowned as a result of the Category 5 hurricane, and ten individuals were still missing.
Looting has plagued Acapulco after a record-breaking hurricane left thousands of inhabitants unable to obtain food or water.
Many individuals have protested about the government’s scant support for Acapulco. Privately, several authorities have expressed fear that the number of fatalities may climb.
“Help hasn’t arrived,” said Carlos Diaz, 31, a teacher standing on the beach among scattered palm fronds. “We’re alone, there’s no sign of the government.”
According to the government, the fatalities included 29 males and 10 women, using numbers from Guerrero, Acapulco’s home state.
According to the report, more than 220,000 residences and 80% of the hotel industry were damaged, and over 513,000 individuals lost electricity.
The cost of Otis’ damage has been estimated in the billions of millions, and over 8,000 military personnel have been dispatched to assist the ravaged port in its recovery.
According to Mexican officials, Otis was the most violent storm to ever hit Mexico’s Pacific coast. It took analysts off guard, gaining strength at an unanticipated rate before crashing onshore and exceeding earlier expectations.
