October 28th 2023.
Desperate local residents and tourists in Mexico have been left with no choice but to resort to stealing essential items from shops in order to survive after the devastating Hurricane Otis battered the iconic city of Acapulco. The category 5 hurricane made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast early Wednesday morning, bringing with it 165 mph winds and catastrophic scenes of destruction.
At least 27 people were killed and several more are missing, with billions of dollars worth of damage caused. 8,000 troops were sent to help those in need, however, with limited access to food and water, many resorted to looting from supermarkets and other stores.
Paola Ruiz Velasco, a tourist from Mexico City, said: ‘I went to the naval base because they said there was a shelter there, but the soldiers just stared at me like I was crazy. They didn’t even give us a bottle of water, nothing. They told us to go and steal from a store so we could have something.’
The scenes of people stealing from the damaged supermarkets were heartbreaking, with residents lining the streets and packing trolleys full of items such as food, water, and toilet paper. Jeff, a 65-year-old Canadian in Acapulco, said he was worrying how he would survive the coming days because ‘all the stores have been pillaged’.
Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has urged those in the city of nearly 900,000 not to ‘take advantage’ of the situation, and has promised to help those in need. Letitia Murphy, whose ex-husband was killed in the hurricane, said she was unable to get information about his death.
The Mexican and British governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The government has yet to estimate the cost of the hurricane, but Enki Research has estimated it could be as much as $15billion. US president Joe Biden has expressed his condolences for the hurricane’s victims, pledging ‘full support’ to Mexico’s government as well as help for US citizens in the area.
State power utility CFE and Mexican telecommunications company America Movil have restored 50% and 60% of electricity and mobile phone service respectively. Another weather front that could produce more heavy rain is expected to gain strength off Central America in the coming days, again moving toward southern Mexico.
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