Residents walk through the debris of homes destroyed by Hurricane Patricia, in Chamela, Mexico, Saturday
Just 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 a 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.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries, said Roberto Lopez Lara, interior secretary for the state of Jalisco. Later, President Enrique Pena Nieto reported that between 3,000 and 3,500 homes had been damaged and the storm also affected 3,500 hectares of farmland. He said 235,000 people had lost electricity when the storm hit, and about half had power restored by Saturday.
It was a remarkable outcome, considering that Patricia had once been a Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 325 kph before coming ashore with slightly less power in an area dotted with sleepy villages and a few upscale hotels.
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 3 kilometers from the ocean. “Five hours riding the monster.”
That such a monster storm could inflict so little harm seemed wondrous. Patricia formed suddenly Tuesday 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, according to the hurricane center.
Patricia’s power while still out at sea was comparable to that of Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 dead or missing in the Philippines two years ago, according to the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization.
Hurricane experts praised Mexico’s expertise at storm preparations and credited good fortune.
Mexico’s transport secretary, Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, put it another way: “Nature was good to us.” Christopher Sherman, Chamela, AP
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