Hurricane Patricia was classified as a category 5 hurricane when it hit land, north of the popular tourist town, Puerto Vallarta.
There were early reports of some flooding and landslides, but no word of fatalities or major damage as the storm pushed across inland mountains and bypassing the metropolis of Guadalajara overnight.
Tens of thousands of people were moved to shelters on Friday in preparation of the hurricane. Airports in Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo and Tepic were closed Friday, but officials announced an air bridge Saturday to ferry stranded travelers out of areas hit by the storm.
Evacuees remain at a shelter in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on October 23 ,2015, during hurricane Patricia. The storm roared toward Mexico’s Pacific coast on Friday.
Hurricane Patricia is the strongest storm ever recorded in the western hemisphere. From space, the system sprawled over the ocean.
On Saturday, the storm was heading inland through the mountains in western Mexico. The effects of the storm are already hitting Texas, which is dealing with massive flooding due to torrential rainfall. Residents in Mexico are starting to clean up what could be tens of thousands of dollars in damages.
— With files from the Associated Press.
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