Hurricane Otis made landfall on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast early this morning as a historic Category 5 storm, unleashing dangerously high winds and torrential rains. Officials have warned of potential “catastrophic” and “life-threatening” conditions, including landslides and floods in the town of Acapulco and surrounding areas.
In related news, thousands of people were displaced in southeastern Yemen as Cyclone Tej triggered rare downpours. Severe cyclones are nearly unprecedented in the region, but warming ocean temperatures due to the climate crisis have made them more likely. The Guardian reports Tej is only the second such storm to make landfall in Yemen in recorded history.