Hurricane Otis made landfall this morning in Acapulco as a devastating Category-5 hurricane, the highest category. Experts at the U.S. National Hurricane Center describe the storm as “potentially catastrophic” and say it’s the most powerful storm to hit this part of Mexico in recorded history. Acapulco is home to more than one million people.
Footage shot by eyewitnesses and shared on Twitter in the early hours of the morning shows powerful winds and rain battering the city.
Another clip showed patients at the IMSS hospital in Acapulco lying on beds in a hallway as strong winds howled right through the interior of the hospital.
Otis experienced explosively rapid growth that took meteorologists by surprise: Just yesterday morning it was still a relatively small tropical storm. By afternoon it was a category-3 hurricane, and then by 10pm it was a category 5. That’s worth explaining: the U.S. National Hurricane Center defines a rapidly-intensifying hurricane as one where its wind speeds increase by 56km/h (that’s 35mph) in 24 hours. Otis’s wind speeds increased by 177 km/h (that’s 110mph) in less than 24 hours. Otis now has maximum sustained winds of 265km/h (that’s 165mph) and gusts of up to 330 km/h (that’s 205 mph).
One of the primary causes for that extraordinarily rapid growth is warm coastal waters: Warm water is like fuel for hurricanes and tropical storms, and according to Mexico’s National Meteorological service, the waters off Mexico’s coast are about 29 degrees Celsius (that’s 84 degrees Fahrenheit) on average right now.
Meteorologists at the U.S. National Hurricane Center say Otis could dump between 20 and 40 cm of rain (between 8 and 16 inches) on the state of Guerrero with some parts even getting as much as 51 cm (or 20 inches) of rain even as Otis begins to lose strength over land. Western coastal areas of Oaxaca are also expected to see heavy rain, as well as larger-than-usual-waves and life-threatening rip currents.
Did you see heavy rains or winds yesterday or today where you were? If so, please send us a note at oaxacanewscast AT gmail DOT com.
The weather may be cooling off slightly, but don’t let your guard down about mosquitos at anytime of the day or night: Federal epidemiology data for Oaxaca shows that the number of officially confirmed cases of dengue for the week is triple what it was at the same time last year. So do take precautions.
Back in January, Oaxaca’s governor said Oaxaca’s CityBus service made no sense and needed to be shut down permanently, the newspaper Milenio reported. But now with the governor’s blessing, the CityBus is finally about to relaunch. Starting this Friday, the CityBus will begin offering service on two routes: One from Viguera to Santa Cruz Amilpas and another from Plaza del Valle to FOVISSSTE Módulo Azul. No word yet on where we might be able to find a map of those bus routes online, but if we manage to find one, we’ll share it with you. The modern buses are wheelchair-accessible, and designed to operate with electronic fare cards.
Buses will run from 6am to 10pm, and for the first few weeks, the service will be free. After that, passengers will pay a fare of 8 pesos.
Support for today’s Oaxaca Newscast comes from Davá Artisanal Shoe Design. A collective of Zapotec women providing more than 100 sustainable jobs, Davá makes and sells contemporary shoes and sandals using traditional indiengous textiles. Visit their shoe boutique in Oaxaca’s Centro Histórico at Cinco de Mayo number 210, near the corner of Murguía. Open every day from 8am to 5pm.
Day of the Dead activities officially get under way today in Oaxaca. Highlights include Catrina-making and skull-painting workshops at city hall from 11am to 1pm, but you need to sign up in advance. Call 951-516-8299 (Spanish only) to sign up.
For kids ages 6-12 there will be workshops on making colorful day of the dead skulls using modeling clay, in four different locations over the next few days. Send a WhatsApp message to 951-34-5141 for more details.
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