He Hurricane Otis passing through Acapulco It has been devastating. Although there are no official figures, the first images show a scenario similar to what happened with Pauline, 26 years ago. The tropical cyclone not only affected hotels or homes, but also the Mexican Seismic Alert System (SASMEX).
The Seismic Instrumentation and Registration Center (CIRES) reported the Affectation of 27 SASMEX sensors due to Hurricane Otis. Most of them are located on the coasts of Guerrero and Michoacán, although there is one in Oaxaca. The sensors are isolated, which means that If an earthquake occurred in the area, the alert would not be activated.
CIRES indicated that the engineering brigades are now ready to carry out the work on site. However, access by land is blocked because many roads are closed due to flooding or landslides. Because of that, recovery of affected sensors will take longer than normal.
“It is contemplated to request support from both the federal and local civil protection authorities, to restore the service as quickly as possible in a comprehensive manner as soon as weather conditions allow,” CIRES mentioned in a statement.
SASMEX is an early warning system to warn the population that an earthquake is approaching. With the help of 97 sensors located in Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Puebla, the system monitors the most active seismic region in Mexico. These sensors recognize and estimate its possible magnitude, alerting the population when necessary.
The Seismic Alert System provides from 20 to 120 seconds of opportunity to the inhabitants of Mexico City, Puebla, Acapulco, Chilpancingo, Morelia, Oaxaca, Toluca and Morelos.
The seismic alert will not work because of Hurricane Otis
In an additional statement, SkyAlert reported that its sensor network (REDSkyAlert) remains offline on the coast of Guerrero. The system reported that, in addition to Acapulco, the towns most affected by the disconnection include San Marcos, Ayutla, Cuajinicuilapa, Coyuca de Benítez, Atoyac de Álvarez, San Jerónimo, Técpan, Petatlán and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.
“The magnitude of the damage caused by the hurricane has left our infrastructure temporarily inoperative, and at this time we cannot determine when service will be fully restored in Guerrero,” mentions SkyAlert on its website. “Our technical team is working hard to monitor the situation and carry out the necessary corrective maintenance as soon as conditions allow.”
He latest report from Conagua mentions that Otis weakened to low pressure remaining over Michoacán. At 3:00 p.m. this Wednesday, it was already 260 km northwest of Acapulco, with maximum sustained winds of 55 km/h and gusts of up to 75 km/h. The storm will cause torrential rains in Guerrero, Michoacán and Puebla, as well as in Mexico City, the State of Mexico and Morelos.