[2015] Hurricane Season

[rQUOTEr]Initial reports indicate no major damage, deaths from Hurricane Patricia

MEXICO CITY — Early reports in the aftermath of Hurricane Patricia — one of the biggest storms to ever make landfall — were cautiously optimistic: No deaths were reported and no signs of major damage were seen along Mexico's Pacific seaboard.

TV stations in Mexico broadcast news on Hurricane Patricia throughout the night, showing bright red satellite images of the monster storm's landfall on the Pacific Coast, its slow trudge northeast and interviews with residents and officials near the impacted area.

Landslides and flash floods were reported, but the mass evacuations that occurred prior to the hurricane's arrival appeared to have worked in saving lives. There were no deaths initially reported or major infrastructure damage, according to early TV reports. Residents from Colima to Puerto Vallarta heeded the warnings and evacuated out of dangerous areas or stayed indoors.

By 7 a.m. EDT Saturday, Patricia was downgraded to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 50 mph, a sharp drop from the 200 mph winds it produced at its peak, according to the the U.S. National Hurricane Center. By afternoon, it is expected to be only a tropical depression.

Still, emergency crews were awaiting the first light of day to make a broader assessment. The coastal highway from Puerto Vallarta to Barra de Navidad, 140 miles south, was impassable due to mudslides as was the highway from Manzanillo, on the coast, inland to Colima, the capital of the state of Colima.

Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz, governor of the state of Jalisco, which took the brunt of the storm, confirmed that no fatalities had yet been reported, according to local media.

Mario Anguiano, governor of the state of Colima, which includes the coastal city of Manzanillo, toured the impacted area just before midnight Friday – nearly six hours after Patricia's landfall – and saw minor damage to buildings and roads but said there were no reported deaths or major damage to infrastructure, such as downed bridges.

"The saving of lives has been exceptional," he said in an interview with Milenio Television.

Puerto Vallarte resident Carlos Guzman told CNN en Español that his neighborhood never lost power during the storm and he was able to stay in touch with friends in different parts of the city. Rain pelted the city relentlessly, but he noticed no downed trees or power lines in his immediate area, Guzman said. He credited widespread evacuations in the popular resort city for the lack of injuries.

"Thank God, we're in perfect condition," he told the newscast.

Mexico’s Tourism Secretary Enrique de la Madrid said major resorts like Puerto Vallarta had had “extraordinary luck” in avoiding damage from the once immensely powerful storm. He said mountains around the city “served as a barrier," according to the Associated Press.

Early Saturday, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto released a televised statement in which he urged Mexicans to stay vigilant but confirmed the storm did less damage than anticipated.

"The first reports say the damage has been minor compared to a hurricane of this magnitude," he said. "But we can't let our guard down now."

Patricia made landfall on Friday 55 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo, with winds at about 165 mph. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated in advance of the storm, which had barreled toward the country with sustained winds of 200 mph for much of the day.

In the beach town of Barra de Navidad, just north of Manzanillo and close to where Hurricane Patricia made landfall, hotel manager Damian Sánchez says the storm blew off roofs, toppled trees and power lines and provoked flooding in the streets.

"It was something very strong," he said, adding the winds lasted for two hours and seemed stronger than the last big storm: Hurricane Jova, a Category 2 system when it made landfall in the area in 2011. "A lot of people have left town."

Domingo Hernandez, a watchman at the Hotel Barra de Navidad in the village told the AP that “waves were coming into the hotel."

“All the streets here in town are full of downed trees all over the place," he added, describing Patricia as the strongest storm he’s seen in a quarter century of living on the coast.

Some 50,000 residents of the small state of Colima, which includes Manzanillo, were staying in 1,600 shelters, the newspaper Reforma reported. Nayarit state, north of Puerto Vallarta, opened 400 shelters and evacuated tourists and residents of coastal areas inland.

"The risks surrounding Hurricane Patricia continue being high. We must not lower our guard," Interior Minister Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong tweeted several hours after the storm made landfall.[/rQUOTEr]

 

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