Breathe
By Esther Arzate
A year ago, the lives of the Acapulqueños who survived Hurricane Otis changed. I also survived and my way of perceiving life and the practice of journalism has changed since then.
From a distance, I see the phenomenon as an additional opportunity for life and as a sign that human beings, with all our pretensions of grandeur, are tiny and defenseless in the face of nature.
A few days ago, on the first anniversary of this natural phenomenon with winds in excess of 250 kilometers per hour, three organizations convened a discussion with the participation of journalists who were in Acapulco when the natural hurricane surprised us and showed its enormous capacity for destruction and devastation.
During the meeting, which served as a catharsis, we recalled that on October 24, 2023, when Otis burst in, a group of 35 journalists were in Acapulco to cover the XXXV International Mining Convention organized every two years by the Association of Mining Engineers, Metallurgists and Geologists of Mexico (AIMMGM).
With Soledad Durazo, host of Radio Fórmula; Karla Galarce, reporter for Quadratín Guerrero and Luis Ernesto Castillo, director of Contenido 360, we talk about the lessons learned from Otis. Perhaps the main one is that no foresight is too much in situations like the one we experienced in Acapulco, where a few hours of wind and rain devastated hotel and fishing infrastructure, homes, streets, urban infrastructure and, most regrettably, the lives of people.
We all managed our emotions differently. Some looked for ways to find food and food; others were more interested in scouring the flooded and destroyed streets to send information as soon as they had an internet connection; there were those who took refuge in their thoughts; others isolated themselves and moved like automatons without being able to speak. We all lived our nightmare alone or accompanied, but we all learned lessons.
We now know the importance of using real-time location applications because during the meteor the internet collapsed, as well as phone lines and electricity service. We were cut off for hours without our loved ones knowing our condition and location.
We also learned to keep the phone with enough charge and spare batteries; not to disregard alerts; to leave the suitcase inside the closet safe and closed because in case of hurricanes they become the safest places and, in general, to know and apply civil protection protocols.
Likewise, give more value to people than to things, be empathetic, be willing to help because we will always find supportive people in our path and especially do not leave official or sentimental pending because you never know when your last day on this earthly plane may be.
The AIMMGM has already announced that its next convention will once again be held in Acapulco, as a sign of its willingness to continue supporting the recovery of the port that was hit again this year by Hurricane John.
To reduce the risk of hurricanes in this place that for 19 editions has received them for its meeting, which represents the second most important in Latin America, the Association deferred the date to November and, as part of the organization, established a security coordination that will be in charge of monitoring and attending to any risk eventuality.
There are those who have announced that they will not attend the mining event, others will attend with fear and some others with extreme caution. Once again we will be facing the possibility of experiencing an event like the one a year ago, but none of us who survived Otis are the same.
*Esther Arzate is a corporate communications consultant. She directs AK Comunicación and the news portal Arzate Noticias; she participates in the Forbes bloggers network and is a lecturer at the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Aragón, UNAM.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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