Video: Hurricane Otis forces stranded Acapulco travelers to sleep on airport baggage carousels

Footage shot on Wednesday and Thursday show the destruction caused by Otis after it made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico.

Otis made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane early Wednesday morning, devastating the popular resort town and killing at least 27 people.

Footage shot by Nathalia Martinez shows the impact and extent of the storm damage across Acapulco, including stranding travelers at Acapulco International Airport.

Martinez said she was among the air travelers who stayed at the airport overnight. She was only able to make her way home after her husband sent for her to be picked up by land.

‘ACAPULCO HAS BEEN DESTROYED’: HURRICANE OTIS BLAMED FOR 27 DEATHS AS SURVIVORS RECOVER FROM HISTORIC STORM

Other scenes Martinez saw include buildings that had been torn to shreds. Walls were punched through, allowing viewers to see through to the other side of the buildings.

Her footage also shows a bus and semi-truck that had been tipped over onto the side of the road.

Additionally, images from Martinez’s video include floodwater from the streets spilling into and flooding buildings.

HURRICANE OTIS LEAVES BEHIND ‘NIGHTMARE SCENARIO’ AFTER STRIKING ACAPULCO, MEXICO

Otis flooded rivers and caused mudslides, leading to the closure of six roads in the area, according to Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Mexico’s Minister of Security and Civil Protection. At least one lane on the main road leading into Acapulco had been reopened, local news reported.

Other storm damage included power lines that had been knocked over. 

Rodríguez noted that Otis knocked down over 50 electrical towers, leaving over half a million customers without power. By Thursday morning, electricity had been restored to around 200,000 customers.

Storm damage also occurred at Acapulco hospitals. Rodriguez said an estimated 200 patients at the Hospital General Regional Vicente Guerrero had to be moved to a different medical facility after the storm impacted operations.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

With maximum sustained wind speeds of 165 mph, Otis was the strongest hurricane to make landfall on the Pacific coast of Mexico. It was also the first time a hurricane made landfall at Category 5 intensity in the Eastern Pacific.

   

Advertisements