Hurricane Otis weakens over southern Mexico after battering Acapulco

A tourist rides a horse at a beach in Acapulco (AP Photo/Bernardino Hernandez)

Hurricane Otis has slammed into Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a Category 5 hurricane, bringing dangerous winds and heavy rain to Acapulco and surrounding towns, stirring memories of a 1997 storm that killed dozens of people.

It had weakened to a strong Category 2 storm by Wednesday morning, and is expected to continue to lose power quickly in Guerrero state’s steep mountains, but the 5in to 10in (13cm to 25cm) of rain forecast, with as much as 15in (38cm) possible in some areas, raised the threat of landslides and floods.