Patricia slams Mexican coast as Category 5 storm

Associated Press

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico

Hurricane Patricia roared ashore in southwestern Mexico as a Category 5 storm Friday, bringing lashing rains, surging seas and cyclonic winds hours after it peaked as one of the strongest storms ever recorded.

Although it had weakened some before hitting the coast, forecasters said it had potential to do “catastrophic” damage.

There were early reports of flooding and landslides, but no word on fatalities or major damage. TV news reports from the coast showed some toppled trees and lampposts and inundated streets.

Patricia’s center made landfall in a relatively low-populated stretch of the Jalisco state coast near Cuixmala. The nearest significant city, Manzanillo, was about 55 miles southeast and outside the extent of the storm’s hurricane-force winds.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm that had 200 mph winds earlier in the day had weakened some, but remained a very dangerous Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph at landfall.

Patricia’s projected path headed over a mountainous region dotted with isolated hamlets that are at risk for dangerous mudslides and flash floods. The storm was expected to rapidly weaken over the mountains and dissipate today, but still was capable of soaking the region with heavy rain.

Residents and tourists hunkered down in shelters and homes across a coastal stretch dotted with sleepy fishing villages and gleaming resorts, including Manzanillo and the popular beach city of Puerto Vallarta.

In Puerto Vallarta, residents had reinforced homes with sandbags and shop windows with boards and tape, and hotels rolled up beachfront restaurants.

At a Red Cross shelter, some 90 people waited anxiously in the heavy, humid air, including senior citizens in wheelchairs and young children snuggled between their parents on mattresses on the floor.

Patricia formed suddenly Tuesday as a tropical storm and quickly strengthened to a hurricane. Within 30 hours it had zoomed to a record-beating Category 5 storm, catching many off guard with its rapid growth.

By Friday it was the most-powerful hurricane on record in the Western Hemisphere, with a central pressure of 880 millibars and maximum sustained winds of 200 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.