Looting breaks out in Acapulco after Hurricane Otis batters southern Mexico

The ferocity of the storm caught Mexico and meteorologists off guard, as ITV News' Aisha Zahid reports

Looting broke out in the Mexican city of Acapulco on Thursday after Hurricane Otis devastated the resort with widespread flooding.

The Category 5 hurricane made landfall on Wednesday and tore across Mexico's southern Pacific coast.

Otis' impact was particularly felt in the coastal city of Acapulco, which was left without access to electricity or internet.

Mexican authorities were caught off guard by Otis after it grew from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in 12 hours.

Currently, it is unclear if anyone has been killed by the weather conditions brought about by Otis. Experts are calling it the strongest storm in history to make landfall along the Eastern Pacific Coast.

The hurricane dissipated on Wednesday, but has caused widespread disruption throughout Acapulco, making roads inaccessible and knocking out communication services.

Looting took place across some stores in the city, including one where National Guard officers allowed people to take perishable food items.

People huddle together in a hospital, in Acapulco, after the arrival of Hurricane Otis

Footage shared on social media showed the destruction caused by Otis, which ripped walls off buildings and entire trees from their roots.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told reporters on Wednesday that the Costa Grande area, in the state of Guerrero, was "hit hard" by Otis.

He said conditions were so bad that communication with the area had been "completely lost".

Hurricane Otis plunged Acapulco into darkness on Wednesday night

Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist at Colorado State University, said that Otis is the fastest intensifying hurricane in Eastern Pacific history.

Otis' arrival came just days after Hurricane Norma struck the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula to the north.

Acapulco is a city of nearly one million people at the foot of steep mountains, which is lined with luxury homes and slums over its hillsides.

The city had opened two dozen shelters in the hours before Otis made landfall.

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