Hurricane Patricia Update: Mexico Lives After Super Storm Dissipates
Hurricane Patricia, which was reported to be the strongest hurricane ever recorded at sea and in Mexico, has finally dissipated and did not wreak great ruin despite previous expectations. Mexico recently updated its current status with regard to their population and their properties, saying that there were no fatalities recorded.
The storm, with a category five magnitude and wind speeds reaching to up to 200 mph, didn't wreak havoc in Mexico. The country survived the powerful storm with no deaths and injuries although thousands of homes were affected.
Sunday morning in Mexico was a bright one since President Enrique Peña Nieto reported that the country was stronger than the storm with no reported deaths and catastrophic loss of property, the Washington Post reported.
"The preventive measures taken were the correct ones," President Peña Nieto said. "Nature, above all, has been generous to Mexico," he added.
However, despite the good news, 200,000 citizens were affected because of loss of power. Washington Post reported that half of these affected citizens already regained power and 3,500 homes were damaged.
There was also no great ruin. Mexico's communications and transport minister Gerardo Ruíz Esparza revealed that the hurricane went to the mountainous areas, per a CNN report. He said, "That lessened the impact. The wind and water hit us but our infrastructure was able to withstand that hit. The worst went to the mountains."
Not only that, Mexico revealed that they had an efficient evacuation plan that further saved them from the projected destruction by the storm. "Prevention has saved lives," Esparza said.
However, President Peña Nieto reiterates that there must be a continuous safety procedure so the people will remain safe.
"It is very important that the population stays in the shelters, the security forces will be patrolling to protect their homes," the President said. "I repeat, we still can't let our guard down."
Furthermore, CNN reports that 10,000 people, including local residents and tourists, have been evacuated to safe areas on Friday and most of them have already returned to their homes.
But some of the people, especially those belonging to the poor sector, might just have lost everything when the storm damaged their properties.
"We have these wonderful luxurious tourist destinations, but then there's half the population that's living in different degrees of poverty," Anthony Perez, a representative of Save the Children in Mexico City said as quoted by CNN.
"A lot of these homes, especially in the rural areas, are made of flimsy materials. With the wind being so strong and then there being so much rain ... many of these families will probably be losing everything," Perez added.
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