Acapulco recovery moves ahead in fits and starts after Hurricane Otis devastation

By MARÍA VERZA
Associated Press

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — More than two weeks ago Otis went from tropical storm to Category 5 hurricane in a record 12 hours. It caught authorities and residents flat footed in this city of 1 million, a blend of big hotels and impoverished suburbs, tourism and drug violence. Now it is trying to recover at a similarly unequal rhythm. Cars can again drive down the city’s principal streets past rubble and felled palm trees. At some points around the city signs read “free food.” There are lines everywhere: for water, food, access to pharmacies. Soldiers and National Guard troops fill the central streets, easily outnumbering the once ubiquitous palm trees.