Hurricane Otis Unleashes Massive Flooding in Acapulco, Triggers Landslides Before Dissipating

A street is strewn with debris after Hurricane Otis ripped through Acapulco, Mexico, on Oct. 25, 2023. Marco Ugarte/AP Photo

ACAPULCO, Mexico—Hurricane Otis tore across Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a powerful and dangerous Category 5 hurricane Wednesday, unleashing massive flooding in the resort city of Acapulco and setting off looting as desperate relatives tired of waiting for help to arrive.

While little is known about possible deaths or the full extent of the damage—Acapulco was still mostly inaccessible by road as of late Wednesday—experts are calling Otis the strongest storm in history to make landfall along the Eastern Pacific Coast.