Death toll from strongest hurricane in the Western Hemisphere is staggering

Robbie Herring and son Chris Herring, at right, wait as 

workers prepare an attempt to right their capsized 

shrimp boat in Bayou Dularge caused by the hurricane

 (Picture: Chris Heller/Houma Courier via AP)

Houses are damaged, crops are flooded and some areas are still without power.
But the official death toll from the strongest hurricane ever measured in the Western Hemisphere stands at zero.
Hurricane Patricia battered Mexico with winds of up to 165mph.
President Enrique Pena Nieto said that 3,000 to 3,500 homes were damaged and about 8,650 acres of farmland was destroyed.

It was the strongest hurricane in the Western Hemisphere

 (Picture: Xinhua/REX Shutterstock)

Farmland was destroyed but the death toll stands at zero

 (Picture: REX/SHUTTERSTOCK)

In the Cihuatlan Valley, less than six miles from the Pacific, between 1,800 and 2,000 people depend directly on agriculture for livelihoods, said Narciso de Jesus Ramirez Rubio, a banana grower and president of the municipal small landowners association.

He argues Pena Nieto has ‘played down’ the damage.
‘This is total destruction,’ Ramirez said. ‘Agriculture along with tourism is the principle source of employment.’

Children play after the hurricane Patricia hit Michoacan’s 

coast (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

The Mexican navy put out a statement Sunday that it had 5,791 sailors and marines, 192 vehicles, seven aircraft, three vessels and eight mobile kitchens working to reach those affected by the mega-storm.
Patricia made landfall as a powerful Category 5 hurricane, having peaked at sea with winds up to 200 mph then coming ashore Friday evening.

The storm battered Mexico on Friday evening (Picture: PA)