Record-breaking Hurricane Patricia weakens to tropical storm as it batters Mexico

In comparison to Patricia, Hurricane Manuel moved more slowly when it made landfall in western Mexico in 2013, and it was a heavily destructive and deadly storm, said Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at commercial weather forecaster Weather Underground.

Patricia’s remnants will soon threaten Texas, where rainfall from another system is already causing flash flooding.

Patricia’s edges brushed Manzanillo port, a main exit for Mexico’s vehicle and mining exports, and port director Jorge Bustos said the facility was still closed, but he expected it to be open again by Saturday afternoon.

Hurricane Patricia was one of the strongest storms in recorded history when it approached southwestern Mexico Friday, but the tempest weakened dramatically after hitting the coast and sweeping inland.

Seafront hotels were cleared of their guests, while thousands of tourists were evacuated by bus or plane, many taken to shelters.

A man drives through a flooded area October. 24 in Tecomán, Mexico.

The storm, which hit Mexico’s Pacific coast Friday, with winds of up to 200 miles per hour, has since slowed down to 35 miles per hour.

Patricia will also out-roar historic hurricane Katrina in 2005 and hurricane Andrew of 1992, which hit Louisiana and Florida respectively with incredible force, causing widespread death and destruction.

Weaver and her family were able to return to their hotel late Friday evening as the brunt of the storm hit land southeast of Nuevo Vallarta, in a sparsely inhabited area of the Jalisco state coast near Cuixmala, according to the Associated Press.

HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images People walk under the rain during the arrival of Hurricane Patricia in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Friday.

Thereafter, hurricane will be moving towards US.

The U.S National Hurricane Centre said the category 5 hurricane could be “potentially catastrophic”, adding that “Patricia is expected to remain an extremely risky category 5 hurricane through landfall”.

That was more powerful than the 315 kilometers per hour winds of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,350 dead or missing when it struck the Philippines in November 2013.

Mexican officials declared a state of emergency in dozens of municipalities in Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco states, and ordered schools as many residents stocked up on canned food and other supplies.

Authorities opened hundreds of shelters and announced plans to shut off electricity as a safety precaution. This meant Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo were spared the worst.