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[h=4]No major damage as Hurricane Patricia remnants move north[/h]Patricia degenerated to a low pressure system Saturday afternoon.
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The Category 5 hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm Saturday, hours after hitting Mexico's coast with winds around 165 mph. Newslook
Downed trees in the port city of Manzanilla, Mexico following Hurricane Patricia Oct. 24, 2015.. Power has been out since 4pm Friday.(Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY)
GUADALAJARA, Mexico<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— Hurricane Patricia,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>one of the strongest<span style="color: Red;">*</span>storms ever to make landfall,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>degenerated into a low pressure system late Saturday afternoon as it moved north toward Texas,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>leaving behind less major<span style="color: Red;">*</span>damage than feared south of the border.
No deaths were initially reported as emergency crews made their way into the hardest-hit areas.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>This capital of the state of Jalisco<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ground zero for Hurricane Patricia's arrival on shore late Friday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was wet with some storm debris Saturday morning<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but mostly unscathed from the system's wrath.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said late Friday afternoon that Patricia had degenerated into a low pressure system,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a stunning transformation from the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Category 5 hurricane that roared toward<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mexico's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Pacific coast packing sustained winds of 200<span style="color: Red;">*</span>mph for much of Friday.
"So far, there are no reports of major damage from Patricia,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mexican<span style="color: Red;">*</span>President Enrique Peña Nieto said in on Twitter Saturday afternoon. "Our gratitude to all for your thoughts, prayers and actions. #PrayForMexico."
USA TODAY
Texas hit with heavy rains, heightened flood threat
Favorable geography worked to Mexico’s advantage in avoiding deaths and destruction.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Hurricane Patricia made landfall on the thinly populated Costa Alegre, a collection of fishing ports, beach towns and, increasingly, luxury villas between Manzanillo to Puerto Vallarta.
Mexico’s Tourism Secretary Enrique de la Madrid said major resorts like Puerto Vallarta had “extraordinary luck” in avoiding damage from the once immensely powerful storm. He said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>mountains around the city “served as a barrier," the Associated Press reported.
Still, there was some debris.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“It's a mess," said Daniel Hallas, an American real estate agent<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the seaside community of La Manzanilla, 25 miles from Cuxmala, where the storm made landfall. "All I can say is that it's a mess.”
In Barra de Navidad, also in the Costa Alegre, locals reported downed trees and power lines and roofs ripped off homes, along with flooding during the storm.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“There wasn’t much of a warning,” says hotel manager Damian Sánchez, who estimated the storm lasted four hours — with a pause while the eye of the hurricane passed.
The highway between Guadalajara and Manzanillo appeared generally unfazed by the hurricane. Armed federal police officers waved motorists through toll stations, which were suspended Saturday to allow residents to return to their coastal homes.
The highway cuts through the Sierra del Tigre mountain range, but there were no signs of massive mudslides or bridge damage.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Barricades cordoned off occasional small mudslides or standing water that seeped into the highway. But mostly the highway was open and fast-moving.
USA TODAY
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Residents here described heavy rain and strong winds Friday night, but no more than what falls on this city during a rainy season storm.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>In Tlaquepaque, a suburb of Guadalajara popular with tourists and folk artists, shop owners opened their gift stores and fast-food joints early Saturday for business.
Sofia Quintero, 23, a manager at a shop selling candies and tequila, said Friday night's winds were stronger than usual, but overall the storm wasn't nearly as bad as predicted. Her power and Internet never went out, she said.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Strong winds and a lot of water," Quintero said. "But like they said it would be? No."
USA TODAY
Patricia leaves some tourists stranded, others eager to vacation
Workers clear downed trees in the port town of Manzanillo, Mexico after Hurricane Patricia passed through on Oct. 24, 2015.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY)
Reports elsewhere in the coastal area were also cautiously optimistic: No deaths had been reported and no signs of significant<span style="color: Red;">*</span>damage were seen all along Mexico's Pacific seaboard.
Landslides and flash floods were reported, but the mass evacuations that occurred before the hurricane's arrival appeared to have worked in saving lives.
Still, emergency crews were assessing the situation. And earlier in the day the coastal highway from Puerto Vallarta to Barra de Navidad, 140 miles south, was impassable due to mudslides, as was the highway from Manzanillo, on the coast, inland<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to Colima, the capital of the state of Colima.
USA TODAY
Patricia tops list of world's strongest storms
Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz, governor of the state of Jalisco, which took the brunt of the storm, confirmed that no fatalities had been reported, according to local media.
Mario Anguiano, governor of the state of Colima, which includes the coastal city of Manzanillo, toured the impacted area just before midnight Friday — nearly six hours after Patricia's landfall — and saw minor damage to buildings and roads but said there were no reported deaths or major damage to infrastructure, such as downed bridges.
"The saving of lives has been exceptional," he said in an interview with Milenio Television.
USA TODAY
Hurricane Patricia: How to help with relief efforts right now
Silvano Aureoles, governor of the state of Michoacan, confirmed that there were no injuries or deaths in his coastal state. Through a series of tweets, he said there were several reports of flooding in the interior city of Uruapan<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but that water levels were already dropping by early Saturday morning.
Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transportation reported that destruction throughout Patricia's path was surprisingly minimal, with no significant damage to the telecommunications infrastructure along Patricia's path nor major disruptions to phone or Internet service there.
Pemex, Mexico's state-owned petroleum company, said they hadn't received reports of "major damage" to their infrastructure in Patricia's path. Some downed trees caused minor damage at a distribution center in Colima, but Pemex said its gasoline stations would be ready to come online as soon as power was restored.
USA TODAY
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Puerto Vallarte resident Carlos Guzman told CNN en Español that his neighborhood never lost power during the storm and he was able to stay in touch with friends in different parts of the city. Rain pelted the city relentlessly, but he noticed no downed trees or power lines in his immediate area, Guzman said. He credited widespread evacuations in the popular resort city for the lack of injuries.
"Thank God, we're in perfect condition," he told the newscast.
USA TODAY
Storm surge, torrential rain, landslides also major threats from Patricia
An estimated<span style="color: Red;">*</span>50,000 residents of the small state of Colima, which includes Manzanillo, were staying in 1,600 shelters, the newspaper Reforma reported. Nayarit state, north of Puerto Vallarta, opened 400 shelters and evacuated tourists and residents of coastal areas inland.
USA TODAY
Patricia's 200-mph winds will turn planes, vehicles into airborne missiles
Agren reported from Monterrey, Mexico. Contributing: Alan Gomez<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Miami; Doug Stanglin in McLean, Va.
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