Hurricane Otis, which struck the coast of Guerrero as a Category 5 on October 25, caused devastating damage to the surrounding rainforest, analyzed by the US Space Agency (NASA).
Satellite images show Otis uprooting trees and downing power lines, causing severe flooding and mudslides. Damage to vegetation in the mountains outside Acapulco is especially visible.
“Hurricanes regularly disrupt temperate and tropical forests in coastal areas of North and Central America,” said Jess Zimmerman, professor of ecology at the University of Puerto Rico.
“Strong winds strip trees of leaves and break branches, and large amounts of rain combined with wind promote the storm.” Uprooting trees in wet soils.”
Zimmerman, who has studied how the composition of trees changes after hurricanes, notes that the damage caused by Otis was “undoubtedly due to the hurricane.”
Previous storms have caused similar damage, which scientists can use to study remote sensing. For example, Zimmerman co-authored a study that used Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to estimate forest damage caused by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm that hit Puerto Rico in September 2017.
NASA reported that researchers found that nearly a quarter of forest biomass was lost during the hurricane and that areas with heavy rainfall suffered the most damage.
NASA’s Applied Earth Sciences Program Disaster Area was activated to support those affected by Hurricane Otis. As new information becomes available, the team will publish maps and data products on its open-access mapping portal.
Damage from Otis highlights the growing threat that hurricanes pose to the rainforests of Mexico and other parts of the world, NASA said.
“Increasing the intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones could have a significant impact on biodiversity and carbon storage in these ecosystems,” he assured.
Source: La Neta Neta
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
