Hurricane Otis batters south coast of Mexico

by IANS |

Mexico City, Oct 26 (IANS) Hurricane Otis battered much of the coastline along Mexico's southern Pacific Coast state of Guerrero after making landfall Wednesday morning as a category 5 storm, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said.

"Communications have been completely lost," he told journalists on Wednesday at the National Palace in Mexico City during his daily press conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

The popular beach resort of Acapulco, one of the country's main tourism destinations, and nearby towns suffered extensive damage from the sudden onslaught of heavy rains and lashing winds, he said.

"It is a phenomenon, because in a very short time - 12 hours - it began to gain strength and become a category 5 storm," he added.

So far there have been no reports of casualties, but landslides and material damage have affected the highway to Acapulco and other roads in the area, he said.

Mexico's National Water Commission has warned of unusually heavy rains caused by Otis in parts of Guerrero and Oaxaca states, both of which are home to large indigenous communities.