 "Category 5 Hurricane Patricia nears Mexico's Pacific Coast, state of emergency declared")
Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded, has made landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast, a Mexican weather official said.
"The eye of the hurricane has already made landfall in Emiliano Zapata" in Jalisco state, near the major port of Manzanillo, National Water Commission director Roberto Ramirez told Milenio television yesterday.
He said authorities were still studying the strength of Patricia's winds but a few hours before landfall they reached a record 325 kilometres per hour, before weakening slightly to a still-fierce 305 kph.
