A better way of thinking about Mexico
A hurricane’s aftermath is rarely the place to go looking for positives.
It’s usually a scene littered with death, destruction, human misery and, often, government incompetence. There was precious little to applaud in the immediate, chaotic aftermath of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Ditto for Hurricane Andrew in 1992, after it buzz-sawed through a swath of South Florida.
I never imagined there would be much positive to say about Hurricane Patricia as it formed into the strongest, most menacing storm ever recorded late last week and took aim at Mexico’s Pacific Coast. I arrived in Guadalajara on Saturday morning to cover the storm’s impact and expected to be reporting on day after day of historic misery.
Turns out, days after the storm made landfall between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, there’s plenty to applaud.
Let’s begin, however, by acknowledging that six deaths have been reported connected with Patricia. Hundreds of homes flooded and scores of businesses were ruined. That’s painful and should not be minimized. Now, the positive: For starters, the storm caused
a lot less death and destruction than originally anticipated. The reasons have been well-documented: coastal mountains blunted Patricia’s strength; the storm avoided densely populated cities; lack of a strong storm surge. It caused plenty of mess and havoc. I saw it as I drove up Highway 200 from Cihuatlán to La Manzanilla and witnessed downed power lines, mud-caked roads and flooded homes. But it was nothing like the nuclear bomb-like destruction of Andrew in 1992 or the flattened homes and miles of rubble left by tornadoes, such as the one that tore through Moore, Okla., two years ago.
Also, the Mexican government, by nearly all accounts, acted efficiently in spreading the word of Patricia’s imminent landfall and moving folks out of harm’s way.
In La Manzanilla, a seaside town not far from where the storm came ashore, residents told me civil police officers were going door to door and urging folks to evacuate as early as Thursday morning.
The last and, for me, most intriguing positive aspect to arise from Hurricane Patricia was the outpouring of concern and goodwill that the U.S. showed when the storm began its menacing march toward Mexico.
Social media accounts lit up with prayers for our neighbors to the south and details and worries were rapidly shared through hashtag threads (#HuracánPatricia, #PrayforMexico were a few I saw). My inbox piled up with questions and concerns about the storm and Mexico.
It may have had something to do with the breathless way the media covered Patricia’s track. (In fairness, Patricia was clocking 200-mph winds by Friday; there was cause for alarm.)
But the swell of concern, I like to think, was fueled by more than flashy TV broadcasts. There was genuine unease and angst in the interactions I had with friends and colleagues shortly before heading here.
It’s like we all suddenly realized we have this beautiful, gracious neighbor next door who was about to get mugged. And we didn’t like it one bit.
It would be great to see that goodwill carry over to Mexico’s day-to-day life, long after the clean-up crews are gone.
It’d be encouraging to have Mexico mentioned more for its political discourse, its steady economic growth (or at least lack of economic crisis) and its cultural treasures, not just as a punching bag for GOP presidential candidates. Jervis is USA TODAY's Austin-based correspondent.