Hurricane Kenna - Retirement, Aftermath and Records

Retirement, Aftermath and Records

After the season had ended, the World Meteorological Organization, retired the name Kenna and replaced it with Karina.

The Mexican government declared the region in Nayarit near the landfall of Kenna as a disaster area, allowing for the usage of emergency funds. Immediately after the passage of the hurricane, the Mexican Red Cross prepared 180 technical staff and volunteers from seven states to deliver 125 MT of food, medicine, and clothes to the areas most affected. The Mexican government deployed the Mexican Army to the area to remove fallen trees and establish water treatment plants to assist the affected population. The Mexican Navy was sent to assist to support medical personnel in the San Blas area, and the government Department for Family Development assisted the Mexican Red Cross in delivering food. Grupo Modelo, brewers of Corona beer, sent 6,600 gallons (25,000 liters) of drinking water and 1000 food sets for the San Blas area.

Backhoes and dump trucks gradually removed the debris and sand from San Blas. Dozens of storeowners, municipal employees, and volunteers in Puerto Vallarta worked to clear the debris caused by the storm. The remaining stores, bars, and shops placed signs on their windows describing they were open in effort to attract the tourists still in the town. By about two months after the hurricane, most hotels, restaurants, and shops were reopened.

Hurricane Kenna is currently the second most intense Pacific hurricane to strike Mexico. The only Pacific hurricane to strike Mexico at a greater intensity was Hurricane Madeline of 1976. Kenna is the second most intense October tropical cyclone to have occurred in the East Pacific, and is the third most intense East Pacific hurricane on record, behind only Hurricane Linda of 1997 and Hurricane Rick of 2009.