By Inés Amarelo —EFE
Ramón Magaña spent the two days after the devastating Hurricane Otis in Acapulco locked in a locker under the rubble of his own home, drinking water through a waterlogged blanket until his daughter found him. Now, five weeks after the cyclone hit, like many of his countrymen, he asks the Mexican government not to let them down so that they can move forward.
"I lost my house. The ceiling fell, the walls of my kitchen, and when I saw that everything was flying, I took refuge in some concrete blocks that I have there. Thank God, right now I'm telling this story," Magaña said in an interview with EFE.
Ramón, who lives in the Francisco Villa neighborhood in the upper part of Acapulco, was alone in his home in the early hours of October 25, and when he realized that his home was not going to resist, he went inside a locker just in time. The problem was that he couldn't get out of the place afterwards due to the pressure that the debris was exerting on the furniture.
Ramón Magaña, who spent two days under the rubble of his own home after Hurricane Otis, poses during an interview with EFE on Nov. 22, 2023, in Acapulco.David Guzman / EFE
After two days, his daughter managed to get home to look for him. Telecommunications remained inactive for days and there was no way to get around due to the absence of public transport and garbage in the streets.
It was then that he became aware not only that his home had become uninhabitable, but also that he had lost six members of his family. Her sister-in-law, two of her nieces and three of her nieces' children, aged 7, 13 and 16.
"They all died hugging each other. The truth is that it was tragic and painful, the family can't get over it because it's a very strong pain to lose six family members," says the man.
However, Ramon returned just a few days later to his job at a beachfront restaurant and considers himself lucky for that, as many other restaurants have not yet returned to activity given the damage.
"I joined the restaurant and, of course, as the saying goes: life has to go on. And work is something that helps you forget about your problems a little bit," he said, adding that he is "grateful to God" for giving him life.
The search for people in the area has been slow due to the unpredictability of the hurricane's strength, and the machinery has not been sufficient. To this day, more than a month after the events, bodies remain under the rubble.
"You can't live here"
In the Ramon neighborhood and the surrounding areas, in addition to the damage caused by strong gusts of wind, the hurricane, considered the most powerful in the history of Mexico because it increased from category 1 to category 5 in less than twelve hours, caused landslides that caused the collapse of numerous homes.
Many lost their homes and part of their families. Those who remained, try to recover what they can, as is the case of Dolores Arias, a neighbor of the Coloso neighborhood, who that night saw how the wind knocked down the door of her house, the water began to enter, the cars were lifted and the entire first floor was filled with mud. Machinery arrived at their house at various times, but it was not enough and they have already left.
Ramon returned just a few days after he was rescued, to his job at a beachfront restaurant David Guzman / EFE
His street remains full of mud and rubbish, as does his home. "We are in a very difficult situation because the water got into the living room, in the kitchen, with mud. It's hard for us to get the mud out of us and we can't live here," Dolores said.
She, like many other Acapulcans, are looking for their own economic resources in the face of the inadequacy of the work of the authorities, but many lost everything.
"I call on the authorities to come and provide us with the help we need," added Dolores, and assures that the authorities are paying more attention to the beachfront area to have a better image, because it is where there is more money, while the residents of the most marginalized areas are not even able to begin to recover when five weeks have passed.