Hurricane Otis: ‘Catastrophic’ storm makes landfall in Mexico

Hurricane Otis: ‘Catastrophic’ storm makes landfall in Mexico

Hurricane Otis has made landfall in southern Mexico, US meteorologists say. 

The category five storm has been labelled as “extremely dangerous.” 

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Otis touched down near the popular Acapulco resort just after midnight on Wednesday (06:25 GMT).

Winds are forecast to reach 165mph. 

The NHC warned of “destructive waves” and heavy flooding in coastal areas. 

A hurricane warning is in effect for a 350km-long stretch of coastline between the towns of Zihuatanejo and Punta Maldonado in the state of Guerrero.

“A potentially catastrophic storm surge is expected to produce life-threatening coastal flooding near and to the east of where the centre makes landfall,” the NHC said.

“Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.”

There’s expected to be up to 20in of rainfall on Friday, across Guerrero and western coastal areas of the neighbouring Oaxaca state.