Mexico in firing line of strongest ever hurricane

Hurricane Patricia (courtesy NOAA)

(CNS): Mexico’s Pacific coast was bracing itself on Friday for the landfall of Hurricane Patricia, which has strengthened into the strongest storm on record. The potentially catastrophic category 5 hurricane is headed toward Mexico’s Pacific coast, including the tourist hot spots of Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. Patricia is expected to hit land this afternoon or early evening, with potentially catastrophic consequences as it is packing 200mph sustained winds and torrential rains.

With less than six weeks left, the Atlantic has experienced a quiet hurricane season, while the Pacific has seen considerably more activity. Experts warned that Patricia may fluctuate in strength as it heads for land but it will remain a category 5 hurricane.

“Patricia is now the strongest ever hurricane to hit the eastern north Pacific region,” the World Meterological Society’s Clare Nullis told a UN briefing in Geneva Friday, as the Mexican authorities engaged in a full scale evacuation of the coast and declared a state of emergency in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Colima.