Hamilton vacationer among those prepping for Hurricane Patricia

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

The airport is closed; all flights are cancelled. The Canadian government is advising against all non-essential travel. Mike Panopoulos is from Hamilton and is in Puerto Vallarta. He shared his concerns with CHCH News this morning.

“I worry about the locals here, because the infrastructure that we are accustomed to doesn’t exist here. They have set up some evacuation shelters.”

“Yesterday I was in the stores making a mad dash to buy water and supplies and batteries and flashlights, and there were just not that many locals that were out buying. I noticed that a lot of Americans and Canadians were in the stores preparing for it, and I also think for many of the residents here, they just can’t afford to buy these things we take for granted every day.”

Officials say the Category 5 storm is “extremely dangerous” with winds of up to 320 kilometres per hour. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Patricia could gain more strength before making landfall tonight.