The hurricane barreling toward Mexico's Pacific Coast on Friday is the strongest ever measured, forecasters said.<br />Hurricane Patricia, which is about 12-18 hours away from making landfall in Mexico, was sustaining maximum winds of 200 mph, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's said in an update.<br />The NOAA warned that the monster Category 5 storm, the most powerful ever recorded in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, could be catastrophic for millions of people living in its path.<br />Mexican officials declared a state of emergency in dozens of municipalities in the area.
