Residents of the Mexican beach city of Acapulco were reeling Friday after a hurricane killed at least five people and flooded neighborhoods in a region still recovering from a devastating storm last October.
Clutching their belongings, families waded through streets that turned into muddy rivers, nearly a year after Hurricane Otis left a trail of destruction and claimed dozens of lives.
Local media showed images of cars being swept away and people clinging to ropes and being pulled to safety.
“We are desperate,” said Barbara Encinas, standing in line at a grocery store.
“We have not yet recovered from Hurricane Otis, and now we are in a situation that seems to be even worse,” she told AFP.
Rocio Parras, who was also in line, said Acapulco was experiencing “terrible days” again.
“I think this is the greatest tragedy we’ve ever seen,” she said. “Water, floods, people drowning. Acapulco is completely destroyed. We need help.”
At least five people were killed, one in Acapulco and four in the surrounding mountains, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, although local media have reported a higher number.
According to the Milenio television channel, thirteen people were feared dead, including several children.
Acapulco has been drenched with several days of rain “like we haven’t seen in a long time,” President Lopez Obrador said, adding that 19 neighborhoods were flooded.
People used inflatable boats and even a jet ski to navigate the Pacific coastal city.
– Military deployment –
John hit Mexico earlier this week as a major Category 3 hurricane, causing flooding and landslides.
The slow-moving storm has been pounding along the coast for several days, at times losing strength and gaining intensity again.
About 25,000 members of the military and National Guard were in the area to help the victims, Lopez Obrador said.
About 1,200 people were in emergency shelters, he said, adding that water was as deep as five feet in some areas.
“Food supplies are being delivered and kitchens are being set up,” Lopez Obrador said.
Acapulco’s airport was also flooded and closed after a nearby lagoon overflowed, authorities said.
John first made landfall Monday in Guerrero state, with maximum sustained winds of about 120 miles per hour, according to the U.S.-based National Hurricane Center.
It was later downgraded to a tropical storm, but temporarily regained hurricane strength.
On Friday, John made landfall again as a tropical storm with sustained winds of up to 45 miles per hour, threatening to cause “catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides,” the NHC said.
John’s center is forecast to move along the coast of southwestern Mexico today and tonight.
“Gradual weakening is expected today, with a faster pace of weakening by tonight as the center continues to interact with the higher terrain of southwestern Mexico,” it added.
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