Sunday, October 25, 2015
Associated Press
CHAMELA, Mexico
Only a day after menacing Mexico as one of history’s strongest storms, Hurricane Patricia left surprisingly little damage in its wake Saturday and quickly dissipated into an ordinary low-pressure system that posed little threat beyond heavy rain.
The hurricane’s most- powerful punch landed on a sparsely populated stretch of Mexico’s Pacific Coast before the system crashed into mountains that sapped its potentially catastrophic force. The popular beach city of Puerto Vallarta and the port of Manzanillo were spared the brunt of the violent weather.
Authorities still were trying to reach some of the hardest-hit areas, which were blocked by downed trees, but the devastation appeared to be far less than feared.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries, said Roberto Lopez Lara, interior secretary for the state of Jalisco. It was a remarkable outcome, considering that Patricia had been a Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 200 mph before coming ashore with slightly less power in an area dotted with sleepy villages and a few upscale hotels.
Hours later, as the storm spun inland, it collapsed into fast-moving bands of rain aimed at already sodden Texas.
Residents of towns nearest the strike described enduring a terrifying night.
“Those were the longest five hours of my life,” said Sergio Reyna Ruiz, who took cover between the shaking concrete walls of a neighbor’s home when Patricia passed over the hamlet of La Fortuna, about 2 miles from the ocean. “Five hours riding the monster.”