RECORD-breaking Hurricane Patricia pushed rapidly inland over western Mexico early yesterday, weakening to tropical storm force while dumping torrential rains that authorities warned could cause deadly floods and mudslides.
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” The first reports confirm that the damages have been smaller than those corresponding to a hurricane of this magnitude”, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said Friday night in a televised message to the nation.
By 11 a.m. ET Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center downgraded Patricia after the Category 5 hurricane transformed into a tropical depression, reports USA Today.
[Updated] While it bears no danger at all to Bermuda, the people of Mexico are not so lucky, with Hurricane Patricia bearing down on them carrying maximum sustained winds of a staggering 305km/h [190mph], which numerous global reports said makes it the strongest hurricane ever recorded.
While the major cities were largely spared, the extent of damage to the more remote areas was still unclear.
Two people died trapped in the wreckage and the other two died while being treated at a hospital, officials said.
“We can’t let our guard down yet”, he cautioned, noting that more rain was coming.
While still out to sea as a Category 5 hurricane, Patricia blew furious winds of 200 miles per hour (322 kph).
The mountains in the area quickly weakened the storm, and the coastal landscape did not offer the right conditions for a storm surge that could have come ashore as a devastating wall of water.
“They said it looked like the storm had hit below us”, she said.
Hurricane devastation is often due more to a combination of unfortunate circumstances rather than the sheer size of the storm.
The Pacific coast tourist town of Puerto Vallarta had widespread evacuations on Friday, but on Saturday guests were returning to their rooms. A hurricane warning was also in effect for the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta.
View of a street in Manzanillo, Colima state, Mexico on October 23, 2015, during hurricane Patricia. The threat of flooding, too is extremely strong, with heavy rains still battering the region.
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But Trinidad Lopez emphasized that it was still early to know the full impact of storm. “I insist, the most risky part of the hurricane has yet to enter the national territory”, the Mexican leader said.
