Lessons of past disasters helped Mexico sidestep the brunt of a hurricane

Meteorologists called Hurricane Patricia one of the most ferocious ever seen in the Western Hemisphere, bearing down on the Pacific coast of Mexico Friday, reports the New York Times. But just hours later, the storm had passed over and, despite uprooted trees, landslides blocking some roads and the destruction of humble homes, there were no immediate reports of any deaths or damage to major infrastructure.

Experts said that the result was a combination of luck — the storm, for instance, passed between two cities but hit neither directly — and capable planning in a country that had learned from past disasters. The effective evacuation of people from those high-risk areas to shelters reduced the threat to human life.