LYNNWOOD, Wash., December 12, 2023—Lynnwood City Council Vice President Julieta Altamirano- Crosby led a candlelight vigil in front of City Hall Thursday, November 16, for the people of Acapulco, Mexico, affected by Hurricane Otis on October 25.

Acapulco is a coastal city within the Mexican state of Guerrero of which the city of Chilpancingo, Lynnwood’s sister city, also resides about two hours inland. It is known for its beachside resorts, surrounding Sierra Madre del Sur mountains, its vibrant nightlife and golf courses.

Hurricane Otis is the strongest hurricane to hit Mexico’s Pacific Coast in history with record-breaking winds reaching 165 miles-per-hour, decimating the city’s buildings, cutting electricity and communication, bending metal street signs, and unleashing massive flooding that has left the resort city in a state of chaos spurring looting and leaving billions of dollars in damages.

With a population of just over one million people, Hurricane Otis may also have set the record for the largest number of people experiencing a category 5 storm in history, according to Jeff Masters, Hurricane Scientist for NOA Hurricane Hunters and Co-Founder of Weather Underground.

It was also the first time an Eastern Pacific hurricane made landfall at Category five intensity. Before Hurricane Otis, the largest hurricane to sweep through Acapulco was a category four – Hurricane Patricia – in 2015.

At last month’s vigil, Lynnwood Council President Shannon Sessions commenced the evening with a quick introduction, inviting Pastor James Murphy from Open Door Baptist Church, and his wife Mary, up to the mic to lead a prayer. Council VP Altamirano-Crosby then said a few words in Spanish before Lynnwood City Councilman Patrick Decker took the mic to share some history and facts about the city of Acapulco and the devastating hurricane that leveled it at the end of October. 

“It’s these tragedies that really bring us together and help us look past our differences, and instead celebrate how we are all children of our father in heaven,” said Decker.

Erica Zacarias, a former Acapulco resident who lived there when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, followed Decker to share her first-hand experiences of returning to Acapulco the day after the hurricane to look for her mother. After the hurricane hit the city was void of cell phone signal and electricity so Erica had no way of knowing she was alright. Luckily, her mother had successfully fled the city for a nearby town and was safe.

“It’s very interesting to live a catastrophe like this from a different perspective because now I was not in it but I could see the response from all over Mexico and all over the world,” said Erica. “I urge you to think about the people affected and if you can please make any donation.”

The city of Lynnwood received a message from Evelyn Selgado Pineda, the Governor of Guerrero, Mexico, which Sessions read in English and Altamirano-Crosby read in Spanish. The message conveyed the resilience of the people of Guerrero and highlighted some of the recovery efforts the city is undergoing in the wake of the disaster.

Suly Altamirano Bahena then took the mic to share how heartbreaking it is to know a place like Acapulco, which was known for its vibrant beach resorts and ocean breeze, experienced such trauma.

Keith Sessions, Battalion Chief, South County Fire, and Mayolo Quirino Pineda closed the ceremony by singing the American and Mexican national anthems respectively before the candles were lit.

In just 24 hours Hurricane Otis rapidly grew from a tropical storm to a full-fledged hurricane making predictions and preparations difficult. Climate change-driven factors were likely the reason for its exponential growth, experts say, due to warming ocean temperatures.

A report published earlier October found that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in the warming of oceans, is causing tropical cyclones to intensify at rates never before seen before. In the modern era (2010 through 2020) tropical storms are likely to increase by at least 50 knots (about 57 miles per hour) in 24 hours, far more likely than similar increases in 36 hours from 1971 through 1990.

“It’s one thing to have a Category 5 hurricane make landfall somewhere when you’re expecting it or expecting a strong hurricane, but to have it happen when you’re not expecting anything to happen is truly a nightmare,” Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami, told Reporters with the Associated Press.

As of this morning Acapulco is still fairly inaccessible by road with tossed cars, debris, and mud caking the streets which had been swallowed under muddy water just a day before. The major highway into Apapulco – which connects to Chilpancingo – was blocked most of Wednesday by landslide restricting emergency services and necessary supplies to those trapped inside.

A resident living in Acapulco told the Associated Press in a satellite phone interview, provided by the Red Cross, the worst of the storm was from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. when “windows began to fall, floors broke up, mattresses flew, hallways collapsed, doors fell down … until everything was gone.”

Though the storm had mostly passed by Wednesday afternoon the devastation left in its wake is still apparent. Heavy rainfall, as a result of the hurricane, is still predicted to last through Thursday reaching between four and six inches. The rainfall is predicted to cause additional flash and urban flooding as well as mudslides in higher areas of the region.

Power has been restored to approximately 40% of the 1.37 million electricity customers in Guerrero, the Federal Electricity Commission said. At the storm’s peak more than 500,000 power outages were reported, according to FOX Weather.

About 7,000 military personnel have been deployed in the area with over 1,200 more on their way. Both Acapulco’s commercial and military airports are still too badly damaged to resume flights.