Mexico braces for Hurricane Patricia, strongest ever

Super-storm Patricia closed menacingly on Mexico's Pacific coast on Friday as the strongest hurricane on record, sending residents, tourists and authorities scrambling to prepare for a potentially devastating hit.

 Authorities relocated some villagers, closed ports and schools in several states and evacuated tourists from beach hotels as the hurricane churned toward shore in the western state of Jalisco.

 Packing maximum sustained winds of 325 kilometers (200 miles) per hour, Patricia was due to hit at about 2100-2300 GMT.

 "We are facing a natural phenomenon, a force that we have never seen before" in the world, President Enrique Pena Nieto told Radio Formula. "We will face difficult moments."

 "The country faces a threat of great scale," Pena Nieto said, adding that the government's priority is to "protect and save the lives of Mexicans."

 The hurricane was expected to make landfall at around 4:00-6:00 pm (2100-2300 GMT) in Perula, Jalisco, near the major port of Manzanillo.

 Rain and wind lashed the coast hours after Patricia mushroomed late Thursday into a category five storm -- the top of the Saffir-Simpson scale

 It is even more powerful than the 315 kph winds of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,350 dead or missing in the Philippines in November 2013.

 Stores shut down in the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta and shop owners placed duct tape in the shape of an X on their windows to protect them.

 "I've had to give away tape to people who weren't prepared," said Ramiro Arias, owner of a frame shop. "We're procrastinators. We don't react until we see the situation."