MEXICO-STORM/PATRICIA-MANZANILLO Mexico's cargo port of Manzanillo registers minor damage after Hurricane Patricia

Record ID: 134873

  • Title: MEXICO-STORM/PATRICIA-MANZANILLO Mexico's cargo port of Manzanillo registers minor damage after Hurricane Patricia
  • Date: 25th October 2015
  • Summary: MANZANILLO, COLIMA STATE, MEXICO (OCTOBER 24, 2015) (REUTERS) WIDE OF HIGHWAY WITH CARS BEING DRIVEN SHIP AT PORT WAVES HITTING SHORE WITH HOTELS IN BACKGROUND WAVES HITTING SHORE VARIOUS OF ELECTRICITY WORKERS TRYING TO REPAIR POWER LINES POWER LINES WORKER WORKING ON POWER LINE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) GABRIELA BENAVIDEZ, MANZANILLO MAYOR, SAYING: "Fortunately, we can say t
  • Embargoed: 9th November 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA274J3YCCYBAA6T3GW07IZTV8B
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hurricane Patricia caused less damage than feared on Mexico's Pacific coast on Saturday (October 24) and its edges brushed Manzanillo port, a main transit point for Mexico's car and mining exports.
    The storm and its 165 mph (266 kph) winds landed in an isolated part of the shoreline dotted with luxury villas and fishing villages, but missed tourist centres like Puerto Vallarta and the major cargo port of Manzanillo.
    Thousands of residents and tourists fled the advance of the storm, one of the strongest in recorded history, seeking refuge in hastily arranged shelters.
    There were no early reports of deaths and it appeared major damage was averted.
    "Fortunately, we can say that all the preventative work done by the federal, state and municipal workers gave good results. We had no losses of life. We were able to warn the people and avoid greater risk," said Manzanillo Mayor Gabriela Benavidez.
    In Manzanillo, some phone lines were down but there was no major damage and operations were set to resume on Saturday afternoon.
    Flooding streets and battering buildings, Patricia hit land as a Category 5 hurricane on Friday evening before grinding inland. It moved quickly but lost power in the mountains that rise up along the Pacific coast and was downgraded to a tropical depression on Saturday as it headed through central Mexico.
    Experts said the storm's speed meant it did not saturate the ground and trigger the major flooding feared. It was then broken up by high mountains, limiting the damage.
    At one point generating sustained winds of up to 200 mph (322 kph), Patricia was the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. Even though it lost some power before coming ashore, it was still a Category 5 storm, the strongest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. Such storms are relatively rare and are capable of causing devastating destruction.
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