Mexico’s new president Claudia Sheinbaum made her first official visit to a disaster zone Wednesday, arriving in Acapulco to assess storm damage from Hurricane John.
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On her first official trip as Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum visited Acapulco on Wednesday, facing upset residents and workers affected by Hurricane John’s devastation.
The hurricane, which made landfall as a Category 3 storm on Sept. 24, caused at least 22 deaths — including 18 in Guerrero — and severe damage across the states of Guerrero, Michoacán and Oaxaca. Acapulco is on the Guerrero coast.
Soldiers help an Acapulco resident escape knee-deep floodwaters in Acapulco Tuesday. The Defense Ministry said 3,455 people have ended up in temporary shelters as of Oct. 2 due to flooding and storm damage. (Sedena/Cuartoscuro)
As Sheinbaum arrived in the city to assess damage, locals demanded urgent aid and government support. Many do not have running water.
Driving to the coast in a pickup truck on the Autopista del Sol, Sheinbaum was also greeted at the La Venta toll booth by victims handing her documents outlining their needs. La Venta is a town in the municipality of Acapulco.
Later, in brief remarks, she emphasized that her visit aimed to assess damage with Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado and other officials.
“The most urgent issues are water supply restoration and road repairs,” Sheinbaum wrote on the social media site X.
Sheinbaum’s visit comes less than a year after Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm, devastated Acapulco, inflicting billions of dollars in damage to hotels and other properties when it struck on Oct. 25, 2023.
Acapulco had barely recovered from last year when Hurricane John struck last week and unleashed a year’s worth of rainfall in four days, leading to floods and landslides that compounded previous damages.
Sheinbaum headed a meeting at the Icacos Naval Base in Acapulco to plan for short-term and long-term storm damage recuperation. The governors of Guerrero and Michoacán attended the meeting. (Claudia Sheinbaum/X)
Miguel Gómez, leader of a local merchants’ union, said over 1,300 workers, many of them women, were unable to work due to damage along the coast. Vendors in areas such as Puerto Marqués and Majahua beach who sell goods like seafood, souvenirs and crafts saw their livelihoods shattered by the storm, Gómez said.
He said that in Puerto Marqués (a municipality about 10 kilometers south of Acapulco) two sinkholes have damaged the main avenue, collapsing at least 13 restaurants. He and others expressed fear that they won’t be able to reopen in the coming weeks.
“You’re strong, you can help us!” one woman from Tierra Colorada whose business was ravaged by the storm shouted at Sheinbaum as she passed.
During her visit, Sheinbaum did not fully tour the most damaged areas but flew over regions, including the municipality of Coyuca de Benítez — which is inland of the coast but has a river of the same name running through it — and the Diamante area, Acapulco’s hotel zone.
Amid the unrest, Sheinbaum also warned about the arrival of tropical depression 11-E, which has begun bringing heavy rains and winds to several western Mexican states. It was also announced that classes at schools throughout Guerrero have been suspended due to the new storm.
At a private meeting at the Icacos Naval Base in Acapulco with Salgado and Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, Sheinbaum discussed long-term recovery plans and emergency support to meet more immediate needs.
Underscoring the gravity of the situation, also present for the meeting were several ministers from Sheinbaum’s cabinet: Marcelo Ebrard (Economy), General Ricardo Trevilla (Defense), Admiral Raymundo Pedro Morales (Navy chief), Rosa Icela Rodríguez (Interior), Omar García Harfuch (Public Security), David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz (Health) and Josefina Rodriguez Zamora (Tourism).
“We are leaving instructions with the National Water Commission [Conagua] and the Infrastructure, Communications and Transport Ministry (SICT) to expedite aid,” Sheinbaum posted on her Facebook account.
Sheinbaum committed to another meeting on Thursday to continue assessing damages and coordinating a support plan.
Meanwhile, some citizens have gone to Chilpancingo, the Guerrero state capital, to ask federal authorities to provide them with assistance.
With reports from López Dóriga Digital, El País and La Jornada
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