It's happening again: Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, is under water again after a hurricane John In southern Mexico, 11 months after the hurricane Otis With a maximum force of 5, it destroyed the famous seaside resort.
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The president said at least five people were killed, one in Acapulco and four in the surrounding mountains Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday morning, taking stock of what happened the previous day.
Local media reported an increase in the number of casualties. According to Milenio TV, 13 people died, including 5 children.
Mayor Abelina Lopez Rodriguez summed it up by saying: “We have received a tremendous and historic amount of heavy rain for five days and the city is under water.”
“We are desperate,” Barbara Encinas told AFP as she stood in line at a supermarket on Friday. “We have not yet recovered from the hurricane Otis “And now we are in a situation that seems to be worse.”
“We were terrified. I had a nervous breakdown two days ago, and it was stormy Otis», adds another resident, Marta Sotelo. “It really scared us. The kids became hysterical.
Many families waded through muddy streets and flooded waters to save their belongings, while others clung to ropes for their lives.
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Local media showed pictures of cars swept away by flood waters, which sometimes reached a height of one and a half metres.
Inflatable boats and even jet skis were used to cruise the streets of Acapulco, a haven for jet-set enthusiasts in the 1960s and 1970s.
Heavy rains cause mudslides and landslides on this mountainous coast, increasing the risks.
Authorities said Acapulco Airport was flooded and closed after a nearby lake overflowed.
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The army deployed
John Revived the final shock of the hurricane Otis At maximum magnitude 5 on October 25, destroying the waterfront and causing dozens of deaths.
The tennis courts at Arena GNP, which hosts the ATP tournament every year at the beginning of the year, were flooded again, just as they did afterOtis.
John hit the Pacific Coast on Monday evening, east of Acapulco, as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale (which has a 5).
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The slow-moving cyclone continues along the coast for several days, sometimes losing strength before intensifying again.
President Lopez Obrador announced on Friday that about 25,000 members of the army and National Guard were in the region to assist the victims.
There are at least 1,200 people in emergency shelters, according to the head of state.
Friday, John The US National Hurricane Center said that the hurricane was along the Mexican coast, with maximum wind speeds of about 100 kilometers per hour, threatening to cause “catastrophic flash floods and mudslides.”
Every year, hurricanes hit Mexico on its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, usually between May and November.
