New England Residents Fear for Loved Ones in Path of Hurricane Patricia

There are tens of thousands of people across New England with ties to Mexico. Friday, they were waiting to see what would happen to their homeland as Hurricane Patricia barrels through.

At Acitron, a Mexican restaurant in Arlington, Massachusetts, owner Iraiz Valdez says she's thinking about friends in the storm's target zone.

"There are going to be a lot of consequences after this storm," she said. "There are so many things to worry about. This is just the beginning of a big hurricane."

More than half of the restaurant's staff is originally from Mexico. They know it will be a long weekend wondering what is happening back home.

"We never expected this hurricane to be as dangerous as it will be," said Jose Robles. "I hope everyone will be OK."

Lance Houston, who lives in Fall River but had been vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, says he's being evacuated - part of a caravan of at least 10 buses, and the search is on for a safer place with food and shelter.

He's been posting pictures online.

"I have a lot of family in the area," said Daniel Hernandez Joseph, Mexico's consul general in Boston.

He says the country is used to large storms causing havoc, and the appropriate protocols to deal with Hurricane Patricia are in place.

"We are bracing ourselves for a very large storm," said Joseph.

Several cities along the Pacific coast are popular destinations for tourist, and catastrophic damage from the hurricane could have dire consequences for business.

Right now, Mexican authorities in Boston say they are not making any requests for help because they don't know what their needs could be.

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