Patricia slams Mexico coast, Merced residents check on families

Hurricane Patricia roared ashore in southwestern Mexico as a Category 5 storm Friday, bringing lashing rains, surging seas and cyclonic winds hours after it peaked as the strongest storm ever recorded.

Merced County residents with families in the projected affected areas kept their phones close, checking in regularly with their loved ones and making sure they were clear from the hurricane that forecasters said had potential to do “catastrophic” damage.

As of Friday evening, there were early reports of flooding and landslides, but no word on fatalities or major damage. TV news reports from the coast showed some toppled trees and lampposts and inundated streets.

Rosa Maria Paredes of Livingston has family living in Nayarit, one of the coastal states on high alert. Paredes said she had been in contact with her 80-year-old mother and her brother on Friday since she first heard about the approaching hurricane.

“My mother lives alone with a younger grandson, so of course I am concerned,” she said in Spanish.

Paredes said there were no evacuation orders in the town where her family is located, but she learned that some people in the area who had family elsewhere, chose to leave on their own.

“Everyone is OK right now,” she said before the hurricane touched ground. “All my family is going to get together in the sturdiest house; that’s the plan right now.”

She said she will be praying and keep calling every so often.

Patricia’s center made landfall in a relatively low-populated stretch of the Jalisco state coast near Cuixmala. The nearest significant city, Manzanillo, was about 55 miles (85 kilometers) southeast and outside the extent of the storm's hurricane-force winds.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm that had 200 mph (325 kph) winds earlier in the day had weakened some, but remained a very dangerous Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (270 kph) at landfall.

Patricia's projected path headed over a mountainous region dotted with isolated hamlets that are at risk for dangerous mudslides and flash floods. The storm was expected to rapidly weaken over the mountains and dissipate Saturday, but was still capable of soaking the region with heavy rain.

Patricia formed suddenly Tuesday as a tropical storm and quickly strengthened to a hurricane. Within 30 hours it had zoomed to a record-beating Category 5 storm, catching many off guard with its rapid growth.

By Friday it was the most powerful hurricane on record in the Western Hemisphere, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Mexican officials declared a state of emergency in dozens of municipalities in Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco states, and schools were closed. Many residents bought supplies ahead of Patricia's arrival. Authorities opened hundreds of shelters and announced plans to shut off electricity as a safety precaution.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said tens of thousands of American citizens are believed to be vacationing or living in areas likely to be affected by the storm.

Three airports in the storm's path were shut: Puerto Vallarta; Manzanillo in Colima state; and Tepic in Nayarit.

Patricia also threatens Texas with forecasters saying that even after the storm breaks, its tropical moisture will likely feed heavy rains already soaking the state.

The U.S. National Weather Service said a flash flood watch would be in effect through Sunday morning for Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 6:48 PM with the headline "Patricia slams Mexico coast, Merced residents check on families."