Mega-storm Patricia drenches Mexico as it weakens
Source: AP
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Patricia pushed rapidly inland over mountainous western Mexico early Saturday, weakening from its record-breaking strength but still powerful as it dumped torrential rains that authorities warned could cause deadly floods and mudslides.
Patricia, which peaked as the strongest hurricane on record in the Western Hemisphere, made landfall Friday on a sparsely populated stretch of Mexico's Pacific coast as a Category 5 storm, avoiding direct hits on the resort city of Puerto Vallarta and major port city of Manzanillo.
There were early reports of some flooding and landslides, but no word of fatalities or major damage as the storm pushed across inland mountains and bypassing the metropolis of Guadalajara overnight. Milenio TV carried footage of cars and buses being swept by floodwaters in the state of Jalisco.
"The first reports confirm that the damage has been less than those expected from a hurricane of this magnitude," President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a taped address late Friday. He added, however, that "we cannot yet let our guard down."
FULL story at link.
Women, children and senior citizens get a meal at a shelter set up in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Patricia in the Pacific resort city of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. Hurricane Patricia barreled toward southwestern Mexico Friday as a monster Category 5 storm, the strongest ever in the Western Hemisphere. Residents and tourists hunkered down or tried to make last-minute escapes ahead of what forecasters called a "potentially catastrophic landfall." (AP Photo/Cesar Rodriguez)
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0c8f1a399dc14421a3db8a8f3779fa46/mega-storm-patricia-drenches-mexico-raising-flooding-fears
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