'We're desperate': Mexico's Acapulco relives hurricane nightmare

28 Sep 2024, 10:00 by Francisco Robles

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Mexican police and members of the National Guard help residents of Acapulco after Hurricane John caused major flooding.

Residents of Mexico's beachside city of Acapulco were reeling Friday after a hurricane left at least five people dead and neighborhoods underwater in a region still recovering from a devastating storm last October.

Clutching belongings, families waded down streets turned into muddy rivers, nearly a year after Hurricane Otis left a trail of destruction and claimed several dozen lives.

Local media showed images of cars being swept away and people clinging to ropes being plucked to safety.

"We're desperate," said Barbara Encinas, who was queuing up outside a supermarket.

"We haven't recovered from Hurricane Otis yet, and now we're in a situation that seems to be worse," she told AFP.

Rocio Parras, who was also in the queue, said Acapulco was enduring "terrible days" yet again.

"I feel that it is the greatest tragedy we have ever experienced," she said. "Water, floods, people are drowning. Acapulco is totally 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, 13 people were feared dead, including several children.

Acapulco has been drenched by several days of rain "like we haven't seen in a long time," said President Lopez Obrador, adding that 19 neighborhoods were flooded.

People were using inflatable boats and even a jet ski to navigate the Pacific coastal city.

A man rides a jet ski in a flooded area of Mexico's Acapulco.

Military deployed

John slammed into Mexico earlier this week as a major Category 3 hurricane, causing flooding and landslides.

The slow-moving storm has churned along the coast for several days, at times losing strength and intensifying again.

Around 25,000 members of the military and the National Guard were in the area helping victims, Lopez Obrador said.

Around 1,200 people were in emergency shelters, he said, adding that floodwaters were up to a meter and a half (five feet) deep in some areas.

"Food supplies are being delivered and kitchens are being set up," Lopez Obrador said.

Acapulco airport was also flooded and closed after a nearby lagoon overflowed, authorities said.

John first made landfall on Monday in Guerrero state, packing maximum sustained winds of around 120 miles (195 kilometers) per hour, according to the US-based National Hurricane Center.

People queue up outside a supermarket in hurricane-hit Acapulco.

It was later downgraded to a tropical storm, only to regain hurricane strength temporarily.

On Friday, John made landfall again as a tropical storm with sustained winds of up to 45 miles (70 kilometers) per hour, threatening to bring "catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides," the NHC said.

"On the forecast track, the center of John is forecast to move along the coast of southwestern Mexico today and tonight," it said.

"Gradual weakening is expected today, with a faster rate of weakening forecast by tonight as the center continues to interact with the higher terrain of southwestern Mexico," it added.