ABC News November 2, 2023

58 people still missing, including 11 Americans, week after Hurricane Otis made landfall in Mexico

WATCH: 58 people still missing after Hurricane Otis made landfall in Mexico
By Nadine El-Bawab & Conor Finnegan

A week after a powerful Category 5 hurricane hit Acapulco, Mexico, at least 58 people are still missing, according to the Mexican government. Among the missing are 18 foreign nationals, including 11 Americans.

Hurricane Otis is the strongest hurricane on record to hit Mexico's Pacific Coast, making landfall with winds up to 165 mph. Prior to Otis, the strongest hurricane on record to hit Mexico's Pacific Coast was Category 4 Hurricane Patricia in 2015.

So far, 46 people have been confirmed dead. But some officials have been skeptical about the government's death toll.

Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
A woman walks on a debris-strewn street in a tourist area, in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis, in Acapulco, Mexico, Nov. 1, 2023.
Francisco Robles/AFP via Getty Images
Picture of the damages caused by Hurricane Otis at the Los Flamingos hotel, where the so-called Tarzan House -former residence of actor Johny Weissmuller, famous for representing 'Tarzan' in numerous films- is located, in Acapulco, state of Guerrero, Mexico, on Oct. 31, 2023.
MORE: 27 dead after Hurricane Otis makes landfall in Mexico as Category 5 storm

Alejandro Martínez Sidney, president of the local chamber of commerce in Acapulco, said in an interview with a local outlet that they've counted about 120 dead or missing at sea alone, some of whose bodies have washed up on the beach.

People in the famous party town were so unprepared, an untold number of fishermen and boat crews were still out at sea. They are now among those missing.

A week after the storm hit, many are still without bottled water, food, electricity and internet and about 63,000 businesses have totally collapsed, according to Martínez Sidney.

Salvador Valadez/AFP via Getty Images
View of damages caused by the passage of Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, Guerrero State, Mexico, taken on Oct. 31, 2023.
Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
An aerial view of a damaged building, in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis, in Acapulco, Mexico, Nov. 1, 2023.
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The families of the missing say at least those bodies are being recovered, as the Mexican navy retrieves vessels in Acapulco's bay and at times the bodies trapped in them.

On Thursday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced a $4.3 billion reconstruction plan, including 250,000 packages of household appliances and food for local families and $2,000 to $3000 per damaged home -- with an estimated 220,000 damaged in total, according to The Associated Press.

Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
People wait in line to fill water jugs, in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis, in Acapulco, Mexico, Nov. 1, 2023.

But López Obrador has spent much time in the last week fighting with his perceived political enemies, accusing them of exaggerating the damage from Otis to hurt him politically -- even as he has actively tried to minimize it.

"It wasn't that bad for us because when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, there were 2,000 deaths," López Obrador said Monday.

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