Deadly Hurricane Maria set its eye on Turks and Caicos on Friday after leaving Haiti and the northern coast of the Dominican Republic drenched and battered.



The Category 3 storm was centered about 35 miles east-northeast of Grand Turk island and was moving northwest at 7 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 6:30 a.m. update. Maria is expected to weaken during the next two days and veer into the open Atlantic. It is not set to threaten the U.S. mainland.

Rains and dangerous high waves began to subside in the island of Hispanola, where Maria knocked down trees and power lines. Joel Santos, president of the country’s hotel association, said the hurricane didn't damage the tourism infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico residents face the prospect of going weeks, perhaps even months without electricity. Some are contemplating leaving.

“You cannot live here without power,” said Hector Llanos, a 78-year-old retired New York police officer who planned to leave Saturday for the U.S. mainland.

Maria is the second major hurricane to hit the Caribbean this month and the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in nearly 90 years.

Maria has already claimed at least 19 lives, however, additional deaths were being reported and the actual death toll was unlikely to be known for several days.

The territory's $73 billion debt crisis had left agencies such as the state power company broke even before the storm hit. It abandoned most basic maintenance in recent years, leaving the island subject to regular blackouts.

"We knew this was going to happen given the vulnerable infrastructure," Gov. Ricardo Rossello said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it would open an air bridge from the mainland on Friday, with three to four military planes flying to the island every day carrying water, food, generators and temporary shelters.

"There's a humanitarian emergency here in Puerto Rico," Rossello said. "This is an event without precedent."

The government has hired 56 small contractors to clear trees and put up new power lines and poles and will be sending tanker trucks to supply neighborhoods as they run out of water. The entire island has been declared a federal disaster zone.

Cellphone and internet service collapsed in much of Puerto Rico. The only radio station that remained on the air during the hurricane — WAPA 680 AM — was relaying messages to help connect friends and families.

President Trump told reporters the island had been “totally obliterated” and he planned to visit, Reuters reported. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced plans to visit Puerto Rico.

Maria’s death toll across the Caribbean, meanwhile, climbed to at least 19, nearly all of them on the hard-hit island of Dominica.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit wept as he spoke to a reporter on the nearby island of Antigua.

"It is a miracle there were not hundreds of deaths," he said, adding: "Dominica is going to need all the help the world has to offer."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — They eye of Hurricane Maria was nearing the Turks and Caicos early Friday as Puerto Rico sought to recover from the storm’s devastation.

Two days after Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, flooding towns, crushing homes and killing at least two people, millions on the island faced the dispiriting prospect of weeks and perhaps months without electricity. The storm knocked out the entire grid across the U.S. territory of 3.4 million, leaving many without power.

The loss of power left residents hunting for gas canisters for cooking, collecting rainwater or steeling themselves mentally for the hardships to come in the tropical heat. Some contemplated leaving the island.

“You cannot live here without power,” said Hector Llanos, a 78-year-old retired New York police officer who planned to leave Saturday for the U.S. mainland to live there temporarily.

Like many Puerto Ricans, Llanos does not have a generator or gas stove. “The only thing I have is a flashlight,” he said, shaking his head. “This is never going to return to normal.”

Maria’s death toll across the Caribbean, meanwhile, climbed to at least 19, nearly all of them on the hard-hit island of Dominica. In Puerto Rico, the government said at least two were killed but media on the island were reporting additional deaths and the actual toll appeared unlikely to be known for days.

As of Friday morning, Maria was moving toward the Turks and Caicos with winds of 125 mph (205 kph). The storm was expected to move near or just east of the Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas on Friday. From there, it is expected to veer into the open Atlantic, no threat to the U.S. mainland.

In Puerto Rico, the grid was in sorry shape long before Maria — and Hurricane Irma two weeks ago — struck.

The territory’s $73 billion debt crisis has left agencies like the state power company broke. It abandoned most basic maintenance in recent years, leaving the island subject to regular blackouts.

“We knew this was going to happen given the vulnerable infrastructure,” Gov. Ricardo Rossello said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it would open an air bridge from the mainland on Friday, with three to four military planes flying to the island every day carrying water, food, generators and temporary shelters.

“There’s a humanitarian emergency here in Puerto Rico,” Rossello said. “This is an event without precedent.”

He said his administration was trying to open ports soon to receive shipments of food, water, generators, cots and other supplies.

The government has hired 56 small contractors to clear trees and put up new power lines and poles and will be sending tanker trucks to supply neighborhoods as they run out of water. The entire island has been declared a federal disaster zone.

Mike Hyland, senior vice president of engineering services for the American Public Power Association, a utility industry group that is sending repair crews into the Caribbean, refused to speculate on how long it would take to restore power in Puerto Rico.

“Let’s see what the facts tell us by the end of the weekend,” he said. But he acknowledged: “This is going to be a tall lift.”

Maribel Montilla already had two large barrels filled with water but worried about how long it would last for her, her daughter, her son-in-law and six grandchildren.

“You know what I think? We’re going to be without power for six months now,” she said.

Cellphone and internet service collapsed in much of Puerto Rico. The only radio station that remained on the air during the hurricane — WAPA 680 AM — was relaying messages to help connect friends and families.

Other concerns were more prosaic. Across the street, someone yelled at a neighbor, “Listen, do you have Netflix?!”

Jaime Rullan, a sports commentator, has a gas stove at home but tried not to think about the lack of air conditioning on an island where the heat index has surpassed 100 degrees (37 Celsius) in recent days.

“We’re used to the lights going out because of storms here in Puerto Rico, but this time, we’re worried,” he said. “We should prepare ourselves mentally to be at least a month without power.”

Deysi Rodriguez, a 46-year-old caretaker for elderly people, does not have a gas stove. And unlike others who have been lining up at the few fast-food restaurants that have reopened, Rodriguez is a diabetic and has to be more careful about what she eats.

Rodriguez said she might temporarily move to New Jersey if the situation gets worse.

Pedro Cartagena, a 57-year-old dock supervisor, said he planned to shower, eat and sleep at his company’s office. He plans to buy food at the few restaurants that are open and operating on generators.

“That’s going to drain my bank account,” he said, “but if I want to eat, that’s my only option.”

In an upscale neighborhood in San Juan, 69-year-old retiree Annie Mattei’s condominium has a generator. But she said maintenance will shut it off between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to save fuel.

“This has been devastating,” she said as her eyes welled with tears.

In the Dominican Republican, Maria knocked down trees and power lines. But Joel Santos, president of the country’s hotel association, said the hurricane did not damage the tourism infrastructure, even though it passed close to Punta Cana, the major resort area on the eastern tip of the island.

In Dominica, where Maria laid waste to hundreds of homes and was blamed for at least 15 deaths, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit wept as he spoke to a reporter on the nearby island of Antigua.

“It is a miracle there were not hundreds of deaths,” he said. He added: “Dominica is going to need all the help the world has to offer.” </s> Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean this week.

Dominica took a direct hit from Maria on Monday night shortly after it strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane. At least two dozen people were killed.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit had to be rescued after the ferocious winds tore the roof off his residence. He said in a Facebook post that winds had blown the roof off of the house of nearly every person he had spoken to. At least 90 percent of buildings across the island were destroyed, WIC News reported. 





Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico early Wednesday morning as a Category 4 hurricane - the first Category 4 storm to make landfall in Puerto Rico since the San Ciprian hurricane in 1932.

In addition to devastating flooding, the storm cut power to 100 percent of the island. Power may not be restored for months, some officials fear.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced a 12-hour curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. effective until Saturday.

“The damage is very extensive,” he told CNN. “It is nothing short of a major disaster.”

Maria impacted Hispaniola Thursday and early Friday morning with torrential rain, powerful winds and rough surf. One person reportedly died in a landslide in the Dominican Republic.

While Hurricane Jose didn't make a United States landfall, it unleashed coastal flooding, beach erosion, gusty winds and rain over the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts.

A powerful earthquake hit near Mexico City this week, killing more than 240 and causing extensive damage.

The magnitude-7.1 earthquake hit about 76 miles (123 km) southeast of Mexico City and was felt across the country. 





Several buildings completely collapsed, including a school. Twenty-one children and four adults were killed when the Enrique Rebsamen school on the city's south side collapsed. More than a month's worth of rain fell across parts of Mumbai in just 24 hours from Tuesday into Wednesday. Almost 12 inches of rain (303.7 mm) fell in the city from Tuesday to Wednesday, the second highest 24-hour September rainfall total on record. Another 2.5 inches (63 mm) fell from Wednesday to Thursday. Flooding resulted in travel chaos as roads were under water and trains and flights were delayed or canceled. On Wednesday, residents were forced to wade through knee-deep water to reach their place for work and business, according to the Hindustan Times. </s> Updated at 9:12 a.m. ET

After devastating parts of the Caribbean, Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico at 6:15 a.m. ET Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had previously been a Category 5 hurricane, but even downgraded, it packed powerful sustained winds of 150 mph and is the strongest storm to have hit the island in decades.

After several deaths were reported in the Caribbean, Maria's eye closed in on the island near the eastern municipality of Yabucoa. The NHC says the eye will continue to move across the U.S. territory Wednesday morning and will move off the northern coast by afternoon.

"The center will then pass just north of the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic tonight and Thursday," according to the hurricane center.

"Very high winds are just tearing trees apart," Miguel Santiago with member station WRTU in San Juan reported Wednesday morning. "Most of the island is without power ... or water."

As the punishing winds moved over the island, doors were ripped off hinges, roofs went airborne and widespread flooding was reported in the capital city of San Juan, says The Associated Press.

Puerto Rico had long been spared from a direct hit by a hurricane; the last Category 4 storm to make landfall on the island was in 1932, reports the AP. Most recently, Puerto Rico avoided the worst of Irma, which went on to strike Florida.

In the days before Maria hit the island, Puerto Ricans were urged to heed hurricane warnings and evacuation orders.

"We expect severe devastation," Gov. Ricardo Rosselló told NPR on Tuesday. "We have about 500 shelters. People have been trickling into those shelters. But really, we have some weak infrastructure in terms of some of the homes that we have in Puerto Rico."

By late Tuesday, more than 4,000 people on the island had gone to shelters to wait out Maria, the governor tweeted.

"One of the shelters in San Juan had to relocate refugees to the hallways because of the roof, it was shaking due to the winds," Santiago said.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered his support via Twitter: "Puerto Rico being hit hard by new monster Hurricane. Be careful, our hearts are with you- will be there to help!"

The storm also blew over the tiny eastern Caribbean island of Dominica late Monday. An adviser to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says the storm killed at least seven people there, according to the AP.

Skerrit had been active on social media, posting multiple times about the storm's effects. Monday night he wrote, "My roof is gone. I am at the complete mercy of the hurricane. House is flooding." He later said he had been rescued.

His last Facebook post was made in the early hours of Tuesday, since then — silence. "Initial reports are of widespread devastation. So far we have lost all what money can buy and replace," Skerrit wrote just after midnight Tuesday. "My focus now is in rescuing the trapped and securing medical assistance for the injured."

"We will need help, my friend, we will need help of all kinds."

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, two people were killed on the island of Guadeloupe, the AP reports. Two people aboard a boat were reported missing off La Desirade island, just east of Guadeloupe, officials told the news agency. </s> Updated at 9:12 a.m. ET

After devastating parts of the Caribbean, Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico at 6:15 a.m. ET Wednesday as a Category 4 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had previously been a Category 5 hurricane, but even downgraded, it packed powerful sustained winds of 150 mph and is the strongest hurricane to have hit the island in decades.

Maria's eye closed in on the island near the eastern municipality of Yabucoa. The NHC says the eye will continue to move across the U.S. territory Wednesday morning and will move off the northern coast by afternoon.

"The center will then pass just north of the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic tonight and Thursday," according to the hurricane center.

"Very high winds are just tearing trees apart," Miguel Santiago with member station WRTU in San Juan reported Wednesday morning. "Most of the island is without power ... or water."

Puerto Rico had long been spared from a direct hit by a hurricane and most recently avoided Irma, which went on to strike Florida.

In the days before Maria hit the island, Puerto Ricans were urged to heed hurricane warnings and evacuation orders.

"We expect severe devastation," Gov. Ricardo Rosselló told NPR. "We have about 500 shelters. People have been trickling into those shelters. But really, we have some weak infrastructure in terms of some of the homes that we have in Puerto Rico."

By late Tuesday, more than 4,000 people on the island had gone to shelters to wait out Maria, the governor tweeted.

"One of the shelters in San Juan had to relocate refugees to the hallways because of the roof, it was shaking due to the winds," Santiago said.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered his support via Twitter: "Puerto Rico being hit hard by new monster Hurricane. Be careful, our hearts are with you- will be there to help!"

Elsewhere in the Caribbean, a falling tree killed one person on the island of Guadeloupe Tuesday, The Associated Press reports. Two people aboard a boat were reported missing off La Desirade island, just east of Guadeloupe, officials told the news agency.

The storm also blew over the tiny eastern Caribbean island of Dominica late Monday. NPR's Two-Way reports: </s> Hurricane Maria, the strongest storm to strike Puerto Rico in nearly 90 years, carved a path of destruction through the US territory on Wednesday, causing widespread flooding and knocking power out across the island after killing at least nine people elsewhere in the Caribbean. Maria, the second major hurricane to roar through the region this month, was generating sustained winds of up to 155 miles per hour (250 km per hour) when it came ashore near Yabucoa, on the southeastern end of the island of 3.4 million people.

Making landfall as a Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the storm ripped roofs from buildings and turned low-lying roadways into rushing debris-laden rivers. The streets of historic Old Town in the capital, San Juan, were strewn with broken balconies, air conditioning units, shattered lamp posts, fallen power lines and dead birds. Few trees escaped unscathed. Thick branches were torn down from most and others were simply uprooted.

“The danger continues – there are flood warnings for the whole of Puerto Rico,” Governor Ricardo Rossello warned residents on Twitter as the storm headed offshore. “Stay in safe places.” He later imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew for the island. News pictures showed whole blocks flooded in areas of the capital, such as the Hato Rey neighborhood. The Miami-based US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported “catastrophic flash flooding” in portions of the island.

“When we are able to go outside, we are going to find our island destroyed,” Abner Gomez, the director of the island’s emergency management agency, known by its Spanish language acronym AEMEAD, was quoted as saying by El Nuevo Dia newspaper. “It’s a system that has destroyed everything in its path.”

Electricity was believed to be out across the island, said Pedro Cerame, a spokesman for the governor. Authorities had not yet been able to assess the extent of the damage, he said. By 5 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), Maria’s center was located just north of the island, NHC said. As is typical for hurricanes passing over hilly or mountainous terrain, Maria was considerably weakened by the time it moved offshore, with top wind speeds diminishing to 110 mph (175 kph), though the NHC said the storm was likely to regain some strength in the next day or two.

Maria was expected to pass near the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic Wednesday night and Thursday before approaching the Turks and Caicos Islands and sothe southeastern Bahamasn Thursday night and Friday, the NHC said. So far, it looked unlikely to threaten the continental United States. Storm-related rainfall was expected to range from 20 to 25 inches (50 to 65 cm) on much of Puerto Rico through Friday, according to NHC.

Maria had ranked as a Category 5 storm when it struck the eastern Caribbean island nation of Dominica on Monday night with devastating force, killing at least seven people there, government officials. Two more people died in the French territory of Guadeloupe before Maria raked St. Croix, the southern-most of the US Virgin Islands, early on Wednesday, causing widespread damage.

Hurricane Irma, which ranked as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, also left a trail of destruction in several Caribbean islands and Florida this month, killing at least 84 people. The two other main US Virgin Islands – St. Thomas and St. John – were both hard hit by Irma.

Many homes and businesses across Puerto Rico have wooden or tin roofs, cheaper building materials that also keep homes cooler in the balmy Caribbean climate, but that are no match for storms of the intensity of Maria. “This might be a new, permanent part of our lives,” said Ramon Claudio Ortiz, 71, a retired lawyer. “We’re going to have to revisit our building codes.”

Maria was the second-strongest hurricane ever recorded to hit Puerto Rico, behind the 1928 San Felipe Segundo hurricane, which struck the island as a Category 5 storm and killed more than 300 people. The latest hurricanes came at a time when the island is struggling financially, grappling with the largest municipal debt crisis in US history. Both its government and the public utility have filed for bankruptcy protection amid disputes with creditors.

Even though Irma passed north of Puerto Rico, it knocked out power for 70 percent of the island, and killed at least three people. Passing just to the west of St. Croix, home to about half of the US Virgin Islands’ 110,000 residents, Maria damaged an estimated 65 percent to 70 percent of the island’s buildings, said Holland Redfield, who served six terms in the US Virgin Islands senate.

“There were a lot of homes that had lost their roofs. It was a sad sight,” Redfield said in a phone interview. “I’m in a very densely populated area now, and I see a tremendous amount of confusion. A lot of trees are down.” Officials on St. Croix could not be reached for comment.

In Guadeloupe, many roads were blocked and 40 percent of the population was without power, France’s overseas territories ministry said. The island of Dominica, with a population of about 73,000, was devastated by Maria earlier in the week. Hartley Henry, principal adviser to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that “the country is in a daze.”

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> San Juan, Puerto Rico: Hurricane Maria destroyed buildings and knocked out power across Puerto Rico before flooding parts of the Dominican Republic and then regaining some of its strength as it approached the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas late on Thursday.

The second major hurricane to rage through the Caribbean this month, Maria has killed at least 32 people and devastated several small islands, including St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands and Dominica.

At least 15 people were killed in Puerto Rico, the island’s El Nuevo Día‏ newspaper reported.

Among those were eight people who drowned in Toa Baja, about 20 miles (32 km) west of San Juan, Mayor Bernardo Márquez told the newspaper, adding the names of those who died have not been released and the causes of death had to be confirmed through autopsies.

More than 4,000 people had been rescued from flooded areas of Toa Baja, the mayor was quoted as saying.

Three elderly sisters were killed by a mudslide on Wednesday in the mountainous central municipality of Utuado, El Nuevo Día said, citing relatives and the mayor of Utuado.

Maria, headed toward the Turks and Caicos islands, is now a Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds of up to 125 miles per hour (205 km per hour). It was 65 miles (110 kms) east-southeast of Grand Turk Island as of 11pm EDT (0300 GMT), the US National Hurricane Center said.

Maria was expected to bring as much as 40 inches (102 cms) of rain to Puerto Rico and 8 to 16 inches (20 to 40 cm) to the Turks and Caicos, which could cause flash floods and mudslides, the NHC said.

Maria’s strength was not expected to change during the next few days, the center said. The storm looked unlikely to hit the continental United States but its storm swells will reach the US southeastern coast from Friday, the NHC said.

Officials in Puerto Rico were assessing the damage after Maria slammed the island on Wednesday with winds of up to 155 mph (250 kph). Ranked a Category 4 storm when it made landfall, it was the strongest hurricane to hit the island in nearly 90 years.

US President Donald Trump told reporters the island had been “totally obliterated” and that he planned to visit.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew through Saturday on the island of 3.4 million people.

“If it is not an emergency situation, people should remain in their homes or shelters,” he was quoted as saying by El Nuevo Dia.

Maria struck Dominica as a Category 5 storm on Monday night, damaging about 9% of the roofs on the island, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. At least 14 people died, CNN quoted Charles Jong, a spokesman for the Dominica prime minister’s office, as saying.

Two people were killed in the French territory of Guadeloupe and one person on the US Virgin Islands.

Utility crews from the US mainland were headed to Puerto Rico to help try to restore the battered power grid and the US military sent ground forces and aircraft to assist with search and rescue.

More than 95%of wireless cell sites were not working on Thursday afternoon on the island, the US Federal Communications Commission said. In the US Virgin Islands, more than three-quarters of cell sites are out of service.

Puerto Rico was already facing the largest municipal debt crisis in US history, and a team of judges overseeing its bankruptcy has advised involved parties to put legal proceedings on hold indefinitely as the island recovers, according to a source familiar with the proceedings.

In the historic heart of the island’s capital San Juan, which has a fort and buildings from the Spanish colonial era, the storm left a litter of wreckage.

Roads were blocked by downed foliage and firefighters and rescue officials wielded chain saws to cut through the debris.

San Juan airport reopened for military and relief flights on Thursday, with plans for a limited resumption of commercial flights on Friday.

With electricity and communications knocked out across the island, workdays evaporated and people busied themselves with securing food, checking on their battered homes and collecting rain water.

Maria passed close by the US Virgin Island of St. Croix, home to about 55,000 people, early on Wednesday as a rare and ferocious Category 5 storm, knocking out electricity and most mobile phone service.

“The worst is behind us,” Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp told reporters on Thursday. “Now is (the) time to march forward and build a better community, a better territory.”

The government has imposed a 24-hour curfew until further notice.

About 600 people throughout the US Virgin Islands are in emergency shelters and many parts are without power, Mapp said.

“It’s going to be a long road to recovery,” Mapp said. “It ain’t going to happen in a week or two and it definitely ain’t going to happen in a few months.”

Maria hit about two weeks after Hurricane Irma pounded two other US Virgin Islands: St. Thomas and St. John.

Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, killed at least 84 people in the Caribbean and the United States. It followed Harvey, which killed more than 80 people when it hit Texas in late August and caused historic flooding in Houston. More than two months remain in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November. Reuters </s> SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Maria (all times local):

Hurricane Maria is lashing the northeastern Dominican Republic early Thursday and is expected to pass near the Turks and Caicos later in the day.

The Category 3 storm’s maximum sustained winds are near 115 mph (185 kph) and the U.S. National Hurricane Center says some strengthening is possible during the next day or so.

Maria, which has killed at least 10 people across the Caribbean, is centered about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and is moving northwest near 9 mph (15 kph).

Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans are rebuilding after the hurricane slammed into the U.S. territory Wednesday, crushing concrete balconies and paralyzing the island with landslides, flooding and downed trees.

Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans stunned by a hurricane that crushed concrete balconies and paralyzed the island with landslides, flooding and downed trees vowed to slowly rebuild amid an economic crisis as rescue crews fanned out across the U.S. territory.

The extent of the damage is unknown given that dozens of municipalities remain isolated and without communication after Maria hit the island Wednesday morning as a Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in over 80 years.

Uprooted trees and widespread flooding blocked many highways and streets across the island, creating a maze that forced drivers to go against traffic and past police cars that used loudspeakers to warn people they must respect a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew imposed by the governor to ensure everyone’s safety. </s> Hurricane Maria strengthened into a Category 3 storm on Monday and pushed toward the Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean, as forecasters warned it was expected to become a major hurricane by early Tuesday.

The storm was on a path that would take it near many of the islands already wrecked by Hurricane Irma and then on toward Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Maria could hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane, said Ernesto Morales with the U.S. National Weather Service in San Juan.

“This storm promises to be catastrophic for our island,” he said. “All of Puerto Rico will experience hurricane force winds.”

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Maria had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph Monday morning. It was centered about 120 miles east-southeast of Dominica — or 85 miles east of Martinique — and heading west-northwest at 12 mph.

Hurricane warnings were posted for Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Martinique and St. Lucia. A tropical storm warning was issued for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten.

Forecasters said hurricane conditions should begin to affect parts of the Leeward Islands by Monday night, with storm surge raising water levels by 4 to 6 feet near the storm's center. The storm was predicted to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain across the islands, with more in isolated areas.

Officials in Guadeloupe said the French Caribbean island would experience extremely heavy flooding starting Monday afternoon, and they warned that many communities would be submerged overnight.

On Wednesday, Maria was expected to be near or over Puerto Rico, which was spared the full brunt of Irma, although much of the island had its power knocked out. Nearly 70,000 people remain without power, and Gov. Ricardo Rossello on Monday warned of another widespread outage.

“We have an extremely weak infrastructure that has already been hit by one storm,” he said. “This is going to be a catastrophic event.”

Officials said the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready to bring drinking water and help restore power in Puerto Rico immediately after the storm.

Rossello said officials had prepared about 450 shelters with a capacity for nearly 68,000 people — or even 125,000 in an emergency. Schools were canceled for Monday and government employees would work only a half day.

Officials in the Dominican Republic urged people to leave areas prone to flooding and said fishermen should remain in port.

Farther north, long-lived Hurricane Jose continued to head north off the U.S. East Coast, causing dangerous surf and rip currents. It wasn't expected to make landfall, but tropical storm watches were posted along the coast from Delaware to Massachusetts' Cape Cod.

Jose was centered about 270 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and was moving north at 9 mph. It had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph.

In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Norma's threat to Mexico's Los Cabos resort area at the southern end of the Baja California Peninsula seemed to ease as forecasters said the storm's center was likely to remain offshore.

Norma had winds of about 50 mph and was centered about 160 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas. The Baja California Sur state government prepared storm shelters and canceled classes for Monday.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Lee weakened into a tropical depression far out in the Atlantic while Hurricane Otis weakened far out in the Pacific. Neither threatened land.

8:25 a.m.: This story has been updated with Maria’s upgrade to a Category 3 storm.

This story originally published at 7:25 a.m.
Hurricane Maria makes landfall on Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane. Effects are disastrous and the entire island loses power. Seven deaths are reported on Puerto Rico, along with two on Guadeloupe. Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosselló declares a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew through Saturday.