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| Image: NOAA via AP/Getty Images |
A storm that is being described as the most powerful hurricane ever recorded, known as Hurricane Patricia, wreak havoc on the Pacific coast of Mexico as it moves north. The storm packs powerful winds and heavy rainfall, comparable to Hurricane Katrina, which hit the southern US ten years ago and killed over 1,800 people.
When it made landfall on Friday evening as a Category 5 storm, the fiercest, it had sustained winds of 165mph. Hours later, it weakened to a Category 4 storm packing winds of 130mph and as of right now, it became a Category 2 storm with 100mph of sustained winds.
Despite the downgrade, the National Weather Service warned that it's still a strong hurricane. Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto said that initial reports confirm that the damages have been minor to those corresponding to a hurricane of this magnitude.
The hurricane landed 55 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo, which is home to Mexico's largest container port on its Pacific seaboard.
Meteorologists shown that when Patricia is a Category 5 hurricane, its catastrophic sustained winds of 200mph and pressure of 879mb are beyond compare to 2005's Katrina and Wilma and 1992's Andrew. It's intensity is comparable to Superstorm Yolanda/Haiyan, which hit the Visayas part of the Philippines two years ago. Haiyan had 195mph sustained winds when it made landfall.
Right now, reports of casualties since Patricia's landfall are yet to be determined.
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