Hurricane Patricia has spared Mexico's cities but roared through some of its remote villages, tearing down trees, sweeping away cars and forcing thousands of people to flee.

There were reports of flooding and landslides after winds of 165mph (270kmph) made landfall and TV news reports showed toppled trees and lampposts, cars and buses being swept away and flooded streets after heavy rain sparked flash flooding.

However, there were no initial reports of casualties and Patricia has now been downgraded to a Category 1 storm (74-95mph).

Forecasters had warned of "catastrophic" consequences as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere made its way towards the coast.

Some 15,000 tourists were moved from the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta amid fears Patricia would either hit there or the major cargo port of Manzanillo.

It eventually missed both, threading its way in between at Punta Perula.

Phone lines remained down in Cuixmala, however, one of the country's most exclusive resorts lying between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo and it is unclear how bad the situation is there.

"The first reports confirm that the damage has been less than those expected from a hurricane of this magnitude," President Enrique Pena Nieto said late on Friday.

However, he added "we cannot yet let our guard down".

Some 10 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Jalisco state.

Patricia hit the country as a Category 5 hurricane on Friday evening before moving inland, losing most of its power over the mountains along the Pacific coast and being downgraded to a tropical depression on Saturday morning.

Hundreds of those who had been forced to leave their homes and hotel rooms began to return, the airport re-opened and buses again crowded the streets as the clean-up began.

The storm's winds are down to about 30mph (48kmph), although experts warned it could still pose a flood risk.

Meanwhile, 10 million people in Texas have been warned of flash floods as the weather system mixes with a local cyclone.