Hurricane Patricia Hits Coast of Mexico- Detail Report

Hurricane Patricia Mexico

Hurricane Patricia has become the strongest hurricane ever measured in the Pacific. Meteorologist Danielle Banks takes a look at some video from Manzanillo, Mexico, as it makes landfall.

Hurricane Patricia made landfall Friday evening near Cuixmala, Mexico, 55 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 165 miles per hour.

The southern coast of Mexico has already seen swells generated by Patricia that will spread northwestward during the next day or so, according to an advisory from the National Hurricane Center. These swells are likely to create surf and rip current conditions that could be life-threatening.

Prior to Patricia's arrival, Mexican authorities declared a state of emergency and warned residents to prepare. The state of emergency was issued for 56 municipalities who are projected to face Patricia's wrath, the Associated Press reported. The municipalities are located in Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco states.

"We need people to understand the magnitude of the hurricane, it is a devastating hurricane, the biggest one ever registered," Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio told Mexico’s Radio Formula Friday morning, via the AP.

vacuations were made in the areas expected to be hit hardest by Patricia and more than 200 people were gathered the convention center in Puerto Vallarta for buses to take them to a safe location before the arrival of Hurricane Patricia, AP reports. Due to a miscommunication, several hotels sent their guests to the center ahead of the storm. The center was not prepared to take them in and the large glass panels on the building could become deadly in the high winds of the storm.

Sirens have been sounded along the coastline to warn residents and tourists that they need to evacuate, according to Ian Hayden Parker, a former resident of Atlanta, Georgia, who has lived in Puerto Vallarta for the past 10 years.



"Currently, my focus for Vallarta Daily is to get the word out about this storm," he told The Weather Channel. "For many of us connected, it’s hard to imagine people still would not be informed, but it’s true. We live in a resort town, but outside of the tourist zone, there is still a lot of poverty and people without computers, Internet, or phones. So this is an ongoing concern."

At CellMex Medical Clinic in Puerto Vallarta, medical staff are moving patients into the safest rooms of the hospital and advising all non-life-threatening patients to stay home, Dr. Giorgio Patino told weather.com in an email.

Southwest Airlines said on its website that flights into and out of Puerto Vallarta from Friday through Sunday can be rescheduled.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami warned citizens in the path of the storm that preparations should be rushed to completion with landfall just hours away.



"This is an extremely dangerous, potentially catastrophic hurricane," center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen told the AP.

In Manzanillo, residents stocked up on non-perishables at a Wal-Mart. One of those shoppers was Alejandra Rodriguez, who bought 10 liters of milk, a large jug of water and canned foods while shopping with her mother and brother. Manzanillo's "main street really floods and cuts access to a lot of other streets. It ends up like an island," she told the AP.



Schools will close in Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit states in anticipation of Patricia's arrival, according to Mexico's civil defense coordinator, Luis Felipe Puente, the AP said.

"The neighborhood leaders have come for sacks to fill with sand," Luz Adriana Limon Rojas of Colima state's civil defense agency told the AP.

Mexico's national water commission, CONAGUA, reports that the government has 1,782 temporary shelters available in the states of Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco with a combined capacity of more than 258,000 people.

The Vallarta Yacht Club posted a message on its Facebook page Thursday morning warning members that hurricane preparations need to start now.

“If there are things you need to do to protect your family, your home or your boat, TODAY IS THE DAY. You might want to postpone that spa appointment.”

Andy Barrow, On-the-Water Director for the club, told The Weather Channel that the Banderas Bay area is generally pretty sheltered from hurricane damage, but locals in Puerto Vallarta are nevertheless "taking down outside structures that might blow away, making sure boats are well tied, and canceling on-the-water events for this coming weekend.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has updated their website for travelers to Mexico, indicating that Hurricane Patricia is forecast to bring hazardous sea and weather conditions to parts of the west coast starting Friday.