Image provided by Mexico's Presidency shows Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (R) leading an emergency meeting with members of his Cabinet, before the imminent landfall of Hurricane Patricia, in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, in the early hours of Oct. 23, 2015. (Xinhua/Mexico's Presidency)
MEXICO CITY, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Mexico are organizing the efforts as they are bracing for Hurricane Patricia that is just hours away from making landfall in the Mexican states of Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit.
With more than 50,000 people having already been evacuated, emergency crews continued to urge more people to leave coastal areas. Hotels along the coast have battened down the hatches, while houses, apartment buildings and shops were being boarded up with planks and sand bags.
In a speech broadcast on Mexican television Friday, President Enrique Peña Nieto warned that Hurricane Patricia was likely to cause "grave damage" and stressed that its intensity would surpass all previously known hurricanes.
While the global Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale tops out at Category 5, which Patricia has been upgraded to, Peña Nieto said it "could be considered to be a Category 6 hurricane."
"The most important thing is for people ...to find a safe place. The priority of the Mexican government is to protect and save the lives of Mexicans," he concluded.
The states to be affected have announced that they will be shutting off access to major infrastructure, including highways, with planes grounded at the airports of Manzanillo, Colima, Puerto Vallarta and Tepic.
President Peña Nieto also ordered 10,000 elements from the army, navy and police to the area that could be hit by the powerful hurricane, alongside ambulances, rescue workers and equipment, and numerous supplies.
Three regional civil protection bases have been set up in Puerto Vallarta, Melaque and Guadalajara to coordinate rescue efforts.
The country's Federal Electricity Commission said starting from 5 p.m. it would be switching off power to the areas that could be affected in case the hurricane makes a landfall, including the resort of Puerto Vallarta, in a bid to avoid secondary damage from any falling cables or functioning transformers.
In the Zocalo, the main square at the heart of Mexico City, the municipal government started a donation drive, seeking items such as medicines, water, non-perishable food, clothes, torches, and sanitary products.
U.S. President Barack Obama also said that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had already deployed experts to help Mexico deal with the consequences of Hurricane Patricia.
"Our thoughts are with the Mexican people as they brace for Hurricane Patricia. USAID disaster experts are on the ground and ready to help," he wrote on Twitter.
