No Pacific storm of that strength is ever likely to come close to hitting the continental United States, so why would you expect Americans to care? It gets colder in Siberia than it does in North Dakota in winter, but that doesn't make record cold in that state any less noteworthy when it happens.
I guess I was suspecting that this was sloppy reporting played up for drama. This seems correct after a little research, which yields conflicting numbers for "lowest pressure."
Hurricane damage is not directly related to such an isolated fact anyway. Prayers for all affected.