López Obrador tries to offer calm, hope on Mexico's Pacific coast after dozens killed by Hurricane Otis

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador tried to offer his fellow countrymen hope and instill a presence of calm after a devastating hurricane ravaged the country’s Pacific coastline, leaving dozens dead.

At least 27 people died in the midst of Hurricane Otis, a significant Category 5 storm that made landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast on Wednesday, according to national officials.

While there have been 27 confirmed deaths, officials fear many more may have been killed. As of Thursday, four more people were reported missing, according to Secretary of State for Security Rosa Icela Rodríguez.

Among the worst areas hit was the Pacific resort town of Acapulco, which was drenched, leaving streets flooded with an estimated 80% of the municipality’s hotels with significant damage.

López Obrador ventured to the resort town by land after airports shut down, and was forced to get out of his car and travel by foot after his detail encountered debris blocking their highway.

Many of the roads in the Guerrero state were either blocked from natural damage or debris from a mudslide. The Mexican president tried to offer assurances to his fellow countrymen, letting them know that help was on the way.

“The army is bringing machinery and we're going to try to reopen [the highway] as soon as possible,” López Obrador said to a crowd of local residents.

Details are still murky about the potential casualties since telephone lines and cell signals were interrupted.

“Unfortunately, we have received word from the state and city governments that 27 people are dead and four are missing,” Icela Rodríguez said.

The Mexican Secretary of State Security did not give additional details about how and where those who died lost their lives.

López Obrador has wasted no time in trying to expedite rescue efforts. The Mexican president’s ministry of defense said 8,000 soldiers were mobilized to Acapulco and nearby coastline towns to get residents aid, including food and water. 

Hurricane Otis made landfall shortly after midnight, local time on Wednesday. The storm intensified from a tropical storm into a brutal Category 5 hurricane in only 12 hours.

The storm’s centrifugal winds escalated to 165 miles per hour to the coastal areas before easing in strength.

Acapulco tourist official Citlali Portillo told Televisa TV “the building shook as if there was an earthquake,” when he described the impact to his office.

Tourists who took videos from their resort hotels depicted guests sheltering in concrete, windowless bathrooms so they would not be injured by shattered glass from the storm’s heavy gusts.

Several buildings had their roofs torn off and the facade of an Acapulco shopping center was destroyed. According to a report filed by the BBC, “more than 30% of the homes in the state of Guerrero lost power, plunging entire towns into darkness.”

Before the storm hit, the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that the storm could “produce flash and urban flooding, along with mudslides in areas of higher terrain.”