(USA TODAY) -- The hurricane barreling toward Mexico's Pacific Coast on Friday is the strongest ever measured in the Western Hemisphere, forecasters said.
Hurricane Patricia, which should make landfall in Mexico this afternoon or evening, had winds of 200 mph early Friday, the National Hurricane Center said in an update.
Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion, the hurricane center said, warning of powerful winds, torrential rain that could bring life-threatening flash flooding, and dangerous, destructive storm surge.
The hurricane center warned that the monster Category 5 storm, the most powerful ever recorded in the eastern Pacific or Atlantic basins, could be catastrophic for millions of people living in its path.
Patricia is expected to remain an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane through landfall, the hurricane center warned.
The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization said in a tweet that Patricia was comparable in intensity to Typhoon Haiyan. That storm left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in the Philippines two years ago.
STORM TRACKER: Track the forecast path of Hurricane Patricia
Mexican officials declared a state of emergency in dozens of coastal towns, including Manzanillo and the luxury resort Puerto Vallarta, and ordered schools closed Friday, the Associated Press said.
Puerto Vallarta has a population of 200,000 people while about 100,000 people live in Manzanillo.
"This is an extremely dangerous, potentially catastrophic hurricane," hurricane center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.
Though the hurricane should weaken rapidly over the mountainous terrain of Mexico, Patricia's remnants will continue to produce heavy rain in central parts of the country and into Texas over the weekend.
Alejandra Rodriguez, shopping with her brother and mother, was buying 10 liters of milk, a large jug of water and items like tuna and canned ham that do not require refrigeration or cooking. The family already blocked the bottoms of the doors at their home to keep water from entering.
Manzanillo's "main street really floods and cuts access to a lot of other streets. It ends up like an island," Rodriguez said.
Feltgen said Hurricane Patricia could also affect Texas, magnifying the already heavy rainfall hitting the state.
"It's only going to make a bad situation worse," he said.
Contributing: Associated Press
