Hurricane Otis

The city of Acapulco and the state of Guerrero Need Help

My editorial calendar had me writing about Día de Muertos today, but I'm going to delay that article in order to say a few words about Otis, the devastating category 5 hurricane that struck Acapulco last Wednesday, October 25th.

Hurricane Otis is the most powerful hurricane to ever hit Mexico's Pacific coast - and it did so in a particularly surprising fashion: it grew from a tropical storm into a category 5 hurricane- 5 being the most severe category of storm - in an unprecedented 12 hours. The damage that Otis wrought is devastating: to date, the death toll from the hurricane is 48 souls, with a number of people still unaccounted for. The damage to property and infrastructure has been estimated at over 15 billion US dollars, making Otis the most expensive weather-related disaster in Mexico's history.

Hundreds of thousands of homes remain without power and water. And although the Mexican government has sent nearly 20,000 military personnel to administer aid and help curtail looting, they are still overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the destruction and the amount of aid needed.

I'm not sure how much this hurricane is being covered in U.S. and Canadian news, but it is top-of-mind still for most Mexicans I talk to. People here are calling it Mexico's Katrina. And while the destruction Katrina visited on New Orleans was much more extensive and costly, it is likely that - like New Orleans - Acapulco will never completely recover from this storm.

The people of Acapulco and other affected areas in the state of Guerrero are suffering greatly. Here are a few ways that you can help to ease that suffering, if you are in a financial position to do so:

• Donate to Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexico's Red Cross) here

• Donate via Pledge here

• The Mexican news site Milenio has a list of donation centers accepting physical goods and bank accounts for making direct monetary donations here

Additionally, if you are in Mexico, there are donation centers in most larger cities accepting donations of bottled water, personal hygiene products, baby formula, clothing, blankets, pet food, etc.

Devastation - both man-made and natural - seems to have taken the spotlight recently around the globe. It is wearing and tragic, but through small acts, we can help to make some of these circumstances a little bit better.