Yes, of course. I was just expecting to wake up to very different news this morning.
The good news so far is that the hurricane did miss the cities and it lost a lot of power once it reached land. The irresistible force met the immovable mountains in the area too.
The bad news is that on several videos I saw there were images of people trapped in cars being swept in flash floods. There is also no news yet from the small towns inland that did took the biggest hit.
Another bit of good news is that in this case the Mexican authorities did a good job with the evacuation, this was noted specially in Puerto Vallarta where the people and tourists were evacuated. Of course we have to wait to see what happened to many people that decided to stay because AFAIK the authorities did go door to door warning about the danger and advising about going to shelters, but as usual one can expect many to stay in their places as looting is always a worry.
Nephew and wife reported in as safe. He said they got a bit of wind and rain, but nothing really serious. That storm couldn’t have threaded the needle any more precisely. Of course the aftermath will be flooding for locals and loss of property, but it looks like no word of fatalities as yet.
It sure put the fucks to the Formula One race in Austin. Glad I didn’t go.
I am from Guadalajara but have owned a home in Barra de Navidad for over 30 years. That is where my wife and I now reside. We were here for Patricia. We boarded up our home which is less than 100m from the water, although there are other buildings between the ocean and our house, and spent the storm in my daughter’s home about 800m from the beach. Our biggest worry was the huge storm surge predicted. Most homes in this town are quite stout, being built of brick and concrete making them able to withstand high winds.
Obviously it was a frightening experience. The eye passed over us directly.Our town sustained much damage along the waterfront from the storm surge, the wind did extensive damage to many flimsy dwellings inhabited by the pooere residents but we were spared the torrential and damaging rains we got from Jova 4 years ago.
La Manzanilla, where the webcam was located is about 30km from here. It had more damage than our area. As did other small villages near there.
In regards to your statement that our government would be slow to respond, you obviously know little about this country. The Federal Electricity Commision stationed over 600 workers and a multitude of equipment in the area in anticipation of the storm damaging the electric supply. Electricity was restored to our town in less than 48 hours.
Proteccion Civil had set up refuges for anyone that wanted to seek more secure shelter. Military forces in the area were mobilized to help in rescue efforts. Roads were cleared quickly after the storm. Food and drinking water were dispensed to those needing that help within 24 hours.
If you want to talk about slow responses to natural disasters, maybe instead you opine about Katrina, where our Government sent aid and personnel to help the victims in New Orleans.
You are right. I was pleasantly shocked about how well the Mexican government organized a large-scale evacuation especially given the time constraints. Maybe Mexico should send some trainers to the U.S. to teach our emergency management agencies something.