Mexicans express relief and begin cleanup from Hurricane Patricia

Mexicans express relief and begin cleanup from Hurricane Patricia

Deborah Bonello and Michael MuskalContact Reporter

Across Mexico, residents and tourists exhaled in relief and began cleaning up Saturday after the remnants of Hurricane Patricia blew toward Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.

Packing record 200-mph winds and rated a Category 5 storm before coming ashore, Hurricane Patricia barreled into the tourist-rich west coast Friday evening at 165 mph.

At sea, it had rapidly grown to record strength. But less than 24 hours after making landfall, it dissolved into a rainy low-pressure area, carrying winds of only 30 miles per hour, a far cry from what meteorologists had called the strongest storm ever to form in the Western Hemisphere.

There were no reported deaths, but some injuries, officials said. Little damage was reported in coastal communities and resorts.

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