by Otis rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane on Tuesday night before its eye began moving ashore on the southern Pacific Coast of Mexico and near the resort city of Acapulco, where it threatened catastrophic damage, forecasters said.
Hurricane Otis’s maximum sustained winds grew to 165 miles per hour with stronger gusts at about 12 a.m. local time, when it was located 30 miles south/southeast of Acapulco, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm was forecast to remain a Category 5 hurricane through landfall early Wednesday in southern Mexico, threatening what forecasters said would be the strongest storm ever to hit this part of Mexico.
The storm threatens a coast dotted with fishing villages and beach resorts as they gear up for their peak winter season. Along its path lies Acapulco, a large port city and a popular tourist destination home to more than 850,000 people, according to the Mexican government.
