Should Mexicans in Acapulco Stay and Fight Climate Change or Give In and Leave? Jason Margolis - PRI's The World
go to original April 30, 2014

A man stands among the ruins of his home in the village of Cacahuatapec, just outside of Acapulco. The community was destroyed last September when the nearby river flooded as tropical storm Manuel hit. (Jason Margoli)

There’s a reason why Hollywood’s elite once flocked to Acapulco — it’s one of the most beautiful bays in the world, with lots of restaurants, nightclubs and tall hotels right on the Pacific Ocean.

On a calm, sunny day, it’s hard to imagine this place last September when Tropical Storm Manuel, which later became a hurricane, tore through Acapulco. Southern Mexico was actually battered by two hurricanes at once, Manuel from the Pacific and Hurricane Ingrid from the Gulf of Mexico. Manuel inflicted more than $4 billion in damages throughout Mexico and killed at least 169 people. In Acapulco, there was looting, chaos, and tens of thousands of stranded tourists.

Elvia Zevala manages one of the high-rise hotels right on the beach, the Crowne Plaza. As she tells it, though, the storm wasn’t all that bad.

“We just saw it as a heavy rain, that’s it. This part of Acapulco didn’t suffer real damage,” said Zevala.

... But walk a few minutes away and it’s a much different story.

Read the rest at PRI's The World

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