Desperate families made missing posters Friday and joined online groups to find loved ones out of touch since Hurricane Otis devastated the Mexican Pacific coast city of Acapulco.
Officials said they are moving in supplies and evacuating people from the devastated metropolis of 1 million people.
Norma Manzano spent a day debating whether to make a digital missing poster, like so many people have done, for her two brothers, whom she had not heard from since shortly after Otis made landfall early Wednesday. Entire walls of beachside high rises were ripped clean off. Hundreds of thousands of homes remained without electricity. People lacking even the most basic resources were emptying stores out of everything from food to toilet paper.
“He sent me a lot of messages that it was really bad, that the windows were breaking, that they tried to put mattresses against the windows, and he told me `I'm sending you my location so that if something happens you know where we are,”' Manzano said.So she started joining groups on WhatsApp and Facebook. She joined so many that she lost count and made a poster of her brothers and their coworkers. She scours lists shared by others of people inside shelters.
An “air bridge” between Acapulco and Mexico City was established, they said. Planes carrying medical personnel would be landing at Acapulco's commercial airport and leaving with tourists. The city's military air base would receive all material aid flights and also carry evacuees back to the capital. Some 120 buses would also carry people out of the badly damaged city.
He said 1,000 government workers would begin a house-by-house census Friday to determine each family's needs. Some 10,000 “packages” of appliances - refrigerators, stoves, mattresses - had already been collected by the government and were ready to distribute to families who need them, he said.Acapulco is at the foot of steep mountains. Luxury homes and slums alike cover the hillsides with views of the glistening Pacific Ocean.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Acapulco Devastated by Hurricane Otis as AMLO Makes Way by CarPacking wind speeds of 165 miles per hour, Hurricane Otis tore into Mexico’s historic beach town of Acapulco Wednesday at dawn, smashing shops and wrecking apartment buildings and hotels.
Read more »
Hurricane Otis leaves Acapulco battered and in chaosA Mexican National Guard soldier tries to stop looting in a shopping mall after Hurricane Otis ripped through Acapulco, Mexico, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023.
Read more »
Otis' stunning turn to monster Pacific hurricane kills at least 27 in AcapulcoACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Otis' stunning transformation into a monster hurricane killed at least 27 people as it devastated Acapulco, officials said Thursday.
Read more »
Hurricane Otis survivors search for friends and necessities in devastated AcapulcoACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Survivors of the Pacific hurricane that killed at least 27 people as it devastated Acapulco spent Thursday searching for acquaintances and necessities and hoping that aid arrives quickly in the wake of Hurricane Otis.
Read more »
Hundreds of Canadians in Acapulco when Hurricane Otis hitThere are no Canadian victims among the dozens of people killed by Hurricane Otis, Global Affairs Canada has confirmed. Nor were any reported injured or missing.
Read more »
Acapulco Airport Reopens for Aid, Escape Flights After Hurricane OtisAcapulco’s international airport has partially reopened for flights that transport aid and to allow stranded travelers to leave the area.
Read more »