Forecasters are warning of a potentially catastrophic landfall as the strongest hurricane on record in the eastern north Pacific heads for a part of Mexico that’s popular with Canadian tourists.

A hurricane warning is in effect for a stretch of coastline that includes the tourist resort of Puerto Vallarta, and the Canadian government is advising against all non-essential travel.

Officials say the Category 5 storm is “extremely dangerous” with winds of up to 325 kilometres per hour — much stronger than Hurricane Katrina was when it devastated New Orleans
10 years ago.

Hurricane Patricia has become one of the fastest tropical cyclones to organize itself in the world, and also now holds the record for lowest pressure in any hurricane on record.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm could gain more strength before making landfall this evening near Puerto Vallarta or the port of Manzanillo.

Dozens of municipalities in the region have declared a state of emergency.

The only other time a Category 5 hurricane has been recorded making landfall on the west coast of Mexico was in October 1959, when at least 1,800 people died.