AS IT IS 2015-10-24 Hurricane Patricia Called 'Strongest in History'

AS IT IS 2015-10-24 Hurricane Patricia Called 'Strongest in History'

It is being called the strongest hurricane in recorded history.

Hurricane Patricia is expected to make landfall in Mexico on Friday with winds over 320 kilometers per hour.

The National Weather Service says the powerful storm could be “potentially catastrophic” for southwestern Mexico. Officials say some areas could receive up to 51 centimeters of rainfall in the next few days.

Patricia is expected to reach the western coast of Mexico as a Category 5 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center says in a Category 5 hurricane, a high percentage of homes will be destroyed.

House tops will fail and walls will completely collapse¹. Fallen trees and power lines will leave residents² without a means of leaving the area. They add that power outages will last for weeks or months, making most of the area uninhabitable. 

The National Hurricane Center says at 11 a.m. Eastern Time Friday (-4 UTC), Hurricane Patricia was 200 kilometers southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, moving to the north at 16 kph.

CNN reported that Mexico's civil protection agency³ had set up 1,780 shelters. About 50,000 agents were ready in Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit alone. And 4,000 Mexican navy⁴ officers were sent to areas where Patricia is expected to cause the worst damage.

All flights to and from the airports in Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo were suspended⁵.

Hurricane watches and warnings remain in effect for Mexico’s Pacific coast. A watch means hurricane conditions are possible in the watch area. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area within 48 hours.

Only one Category 5 hurricane has ever made landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast. That hurricane followed a path similar to that of Hurricane Patricia. It landed near Puerto Vallarta in October 1959, causing about 1,800 deaths.

Words in This Story

collapse – v. to break apart and fall down suddenly

uninhabitable - adj.  not safe or suitable to be lived in?

1 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

2 residents   

n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者

参考例句：

• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

3 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

4 navy   

n.海军，海军人员，海军军力，藏青色

参考例句：

• My brother is in the navy.我兄弟在海军服役。
• He has transferred from the army to the navy.他从陆军转到海军。

5 suspended   

a.被暂时搁置的

参考例句：

• A lamp was suspended from the ceiling. 一盏吊灯悬在天花板上。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area. 英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。