Hurricane Otis

Hurricane Otis

Otis was a major hurricane in the Eastern Pacific Basin. It quickly strengthened from a tropical storm into a powerful category five hurricane in the hours before making landfall near Acapulco, Mexico.

Otis is the strongest storm to ever hit the Pacific Coast of Mexico, slamming into the coast on Oct. 25. Before making landfall, Otis strengthened to a Category 5 storm from a tropical storm on Oct. 24, and made landfall in the resort town.

The U.S National Hurricane Center warned of “catastrophic damage” from Otis, and 27 people have died from the storm in Mexico. Several others are missing.

Otis made landfall with 165 mph wind speeds. 88 degree ocean temperatures led to Otis’ rapid intensification. Category 4 Hurricane Patricia, which hit Mexico in 2015, was the previous strongest storm to ever hit the Pacific Coast of Mexico.

The storm decimated Acapulco, crumbling town infrastructure of hotels and private residences. It was the most intense storm to ever hit the Acapulco region of Mexico, and more than 500,000 people lost power. 51,864 houses were destroyed, and 79,510 sustained severe damage and another 80,823 suffered minor to moderate damage.

Fifty people were killed due to Otis, and another 30 are still missing. Losses were estimated at $15 billion U.S dollars.

For more information, see the National Hurricane Center.

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Contributions by: CIRA Staff and Dakota Smith

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