Video: Hurricane Otis forces stranded Acapulco travelers to sleep on airport baggage carousels
Otis made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane early Wednesday morning, devastating the popular resort town of Acapulco.
Stranded Acapulco travelers sleep on airport's baggage carousels amid Hurricane Otis' destruction
Footage shows the extensive damage across Acapulco on Thursday, and people sleeping on a baggage carousel in the airport overnight. Oct. 25-26, 2023. (Courtesy: Nathalia Martinez via Storyful)
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.
Air travelers sleep on luggage carousel in Acapulco.
(Nathalia Martinez via Storyful / FOX Weather)
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.
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.
Buildings torn to shreds after Otis.
(Nathalia Martinez via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Her footage also shows a bus and semi-truck that had been tipped over onto the side of the road.
Tipped-over bus and semi-truck in Acapulco.
(Nathalia Martinez via Storyful / FOX Weather)
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.
Flooded streets in Acapulco.
(Nathalia Martinez via Storyful / FOX Weather)
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.
Downed power lines in Acapulco.
(Nathalia Martinez via Storyful / FOX Weather)
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.
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.