SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Hurricane Maria, the second major storm to ravage the Caribbean in a month, skirted past the Turks and Caicos Islands on Friday, leaving devastation in its wake that included fresh flooding on Puerto Rico two days after pummeling the U.S. island territory. 
 
 Maria, which ranked as the most powerful hurricane to strike Puerto Rico in nearly a century, has killed at least six people there and claimed 19 lives on several other Caribbean islands, according to government officials and local news media accounts. 
 
 But even as Puerto Ricans struggled without electricity to clean up and dig out from tangles of rubble, uprooted trees and fallen power lines, another potential disaster was unfolding in northwestern corner of the island, where a dam was on the verge of collapse. 
 
 The U.S. National Weather Service warned in a series of bulletins that the dam on the rain-engorged Guajataca River, was failing, causing flash flooding in the area and prompting an evacuation of communities below the reservoir by way of buses. 
 
 Roughly 70,000 people live in the area downstream from the earthen dam that was under evacuation, the island’s governor, Ricardo Rossello, said in a late-afternoon news conference. 
 
 Christina Villalba, an official for the island’s emergency management agency, said there was little doubt the dam would give way. 
 
 “It could be tonight, it could be tomorrow, it could be in the next few days, but it’s very likely it will be soon,” she said, adding that authorities were aiming to complete evacuations Friday night. 
 
 Maria struck Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale and cut a path of destruction through the center of the island on Wednesday, ripping roofs from buildings and triggering widespread flooding. Torrential downpours from the storm sent several rivers to record levels. 
 
 Officials in Puerto Rico, an island of 3.4 million inhabitants, confirmed six storm-related fatalities: three from landslides in Utuado, in the island’s mountainous center; two from drowning in Toa Baja, west of San Juan, and a person near San Juan who was struck by a piece of wind-blown lumber. 
 
 Earlier news media reports had put the island’s death toll as high as 15. 
 
 “We know of other potential fatalities through unofficial channels that we haven’t been able to confirm,” said Hector Pesquera, the government’s secretary of public safety. 
 
 In and around San Juan, the capital, people worked to clear debris from the streets on Friday, some working with machetes, while others began to reopen businesses, though they wondered how long they could operate without power and limited inventory. 
 
 “There’s no water, no power, nothing,” said Rogelio Jimenez, a 34-year-old pizzeria worker. 
 
 Locals stand along a street affected by the overflow of the Soco River in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in El Seibo, Dominican Republic, September 22, 2017. REUTERS/Ricardo Rojas 
 
 Motorists lined up for hours outside the few gasoline stations that were open. “I’ve been here for three and a bit hours,” said Angel Serra, sitting in a blocks-long line hoping to fill up his tank. 
 
 Long lines also formed at the handful of automated teller machines that appeared to be working in the region. 
 
 DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT $45 BLN 
 
 Puerto Rico was already facing the largest municipal debt crisis in U.S. history. A team of judges overseeing its bankruptcy has advised involved parties to put legal proceedings on hold indefinitely as the island recovers, said a source familiar with the proceedings. 
 
 The storm was expected to tally $45 billion in damage and lost economic activity across the Caribbean, with at least $30 billion of that in Puerto Rico, said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler at Enki Research in Savannah, Georgia. 
 
 Slideshow (20 Images) 
 
 Elsewhere in the Caribbean, 14 deaths were reported on Dominica, an island nation of 71,000 inhabitants. Two people were killed in the French territory of Guadeloupe and one in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Two people died when the storm roared past the Dominican Republic on Thursday, according to local media outlet El Jaya. 
 
 Maria churned past Turks and Caicos and was 295 miles (480 km) east of the Bahamas by 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT) on Friday, the NHC said. It was packing sustained winds of up to 125 miles per hour (205 km per hour), making it a Category 3 hurricane, but was expected to gradually weaken over the next two days as it turned more sharply to the north. 
 
 Officials on Turks and Caicos, a British overseas territory, had ordered residents to remain indoors and businesses to close on Friday as the hurricane neared, bringing a storm surge of as much as 12 feet (3.7 meters) above normal tide levels. But hurricane warnings were later canceled as Maria passed. 
 
 Storm swells driven by Maria were expected to reach the southeastern coast of the U.S mainland on Friday, the NHC said, adding that it was too soon to determine what, if any, other direct effects it would have. 
 
 In the Dominican Republic, Maria damaged nearly 3,000 homes and sent more than 9,300 to shelters, local emergency response agencies reported. 
 
 Maria passed close by the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix, home to about 55,000 people, early Wednesday, knocking out electricity and most mobile phone service. 
 
 Maria hit about two weeks after Hurricane Irma pounded two other U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Thomas and St. John. The islands’ governor, Kenneth Mapp, said it was possible that St. Thomas and St. Croix might reopen to some cruise liner traffic in a month. 
 
 Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean and the United States. It followed Harvey, which also killed more than 80 people when it struck Texas in late August and caused flooding in Houston. 
 
 More than two months remain in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, although the busiest period is generally from mid-August to mid-October. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
 
 / Updated By Yuliya Talmazan, Ema Jimenez, Daniel Arkin and Daniella Silva 
 
 Millions of people across Puerto Rico woke up Thursday to a grim new reality. 
 
 Hurricane Maria, the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. territory in almost a century, ravaged the island, demolishing homes and knocking out all electricity. It could take half a year to restore power to the nearly 3.5 million people who live there. 
 
 The eye of the storm moved offshore overnight, but the danger remained Thursday: Intense flooding was reported, particularly in San Juan, where many residential streets looked like rushing rivers. 
 
 The storm has been blamed for the deaths of 18 people, including two in Puerto Rico, but many fear that toll could climb as authorities were beginning to assess the extent of the damage and search for survivors. 
 
 San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said the devastation in the capital city was unlike any she had ever seen. 
 
 "The San Juan that we knew yesterday is no longer there," Cruz told MSNBC. "We're looking at 4 to 6 months without electricity." 
 
 Yennifer Álvarez Jaimes, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló's press secretary, said all power across the economically strained island had been knocked out. 
 
 The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the entire island shortly after 12:30 a.m. ET Thursday. Residents were urged to move to higher ground if possible. 
 
 PHOTOS: Hurricane Maria Lashes Puerto Rico, Storm-Battered Caribbean 
 
 The storm, with its fierce winds and heavy rain, toppled trees, shattered windows, and ripped roofs and doors off homes. Widespread flooding blocked many highways and streets across the island Thursday, creating a maze that forced drivers to go against traffic. 
 
 A man wades through a flooded road in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 20. Ricardo Ardengo / AFP - Getty Images 
 
 Gregorio Cortes 39, a doctor in Vistamar Marina, a community in Carolina, Puerto Rico, said several highways were impassible. 
 
 "This morning I wasn’t able to get across several major highways here since there’s flooding everywhere and fallen trees," he said by phone Thursday evening. 
 
 Cell phone communication was completely down from Thursday morning until around 4 p.m., he said, leaving Cortes unable to reach his parents and grandparents. 
 
 "It’s a feeling of impotence that you have you want to do so much and you can do so little," he said. 
 
 Cortes said he traveled to their houses, and thankfully found his relatives safe and sound. 
 
 But while the trip usually took about ten or 15 minutes, this time the trip took between an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes, he said. 
 
 Police cars make their way down darkened streets during a blackout in San Juan on Sept. 20. Alex Wroblewski / Getty Images 
 
 Cortes added that the had lived through several previous hurricanes on the island, but had never experienced one like this. 
 
 "I’ve been in Hugo, I’ve been in Georges and this was by far the worst," he said, referring to two previous major storms." 
 
 "I’ve never been in a war zone, but what you see in movies — it’s like that," he added. 
 
 San Juan resident Heidi Roque, 21, told NBC News her home was left with shattered windows, damaged fences and broken doors. 
 
 She was worried about her grandmother, who lives alone in the town of Trujillo Alto, because she has no power or water. Roque's family hasn't heard from her since early Wednesday. 
 
 "I fear Puerto Rico won't be the same when this is over. Not after this storm," Roque said choking back tears. "This is the first time our family was faced with something so monstrous, we didn't know how to react,” Roque said. 
 
 Outside an apartment building in San Juan, 40-year-old tourism company operator Adrian Pacheco recounted how he spent eight hours in a stairwell huddled with 100 other residents when the hurricane ripped the storm shutters off his building. 
 
 "Months and months and months and months are going to pass before we can recover from this," Felix Delgado, mayor of the northern coastal city of Catano, told The Associated Press. 
 
 President Donald Trump has approved a federal disaster declaration for Puerto Rico, the White House announced. 
 
 Hurricane Irma sideswiped Puerto Rico on Sept. 6, leaving more than 1 million people without power but causing no deaths or widespread damage like it did on nearby islands. 
 
 Maria, however, blew out windows at some hospitals and police stations, turned some streets into roaring rivers and destroyed hundreds of homes across the island. A storm surge of more than 4 feet was also reported. 
 
 Puerto Rico's electric grid was crumbling amid lack of maintenance and a dwindling staff even before Maria and Irma hit the island. The territory's infrastructure has gone neglected for years, and its power company defaulted on a debt-restructuring deal in July. 
 
 Paths of recent hurricanes. NBC News 
 
 Rosselló imposed a 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew, citing flood warnings and the importance of keeping streets clear for repair and rescue teams. 
 
 Airports in San Juan, Aguadilla and Ponce were ordered closed until Friday at the earliest because of flooding and debris, authorities said. 
 
 Maria, the strongest storm to hit Puerto Rico since 1928, had maximum sustained winds of 155 mph when it made landfall as a Category 4 storm near the town of Yabucoa just after 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said. 
 
 The storm weakened as it battered Puerto Rico, but strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane early Thursday. 
 
 At 11 a.m. ET, it was moving past northeastern Dominican Republic on its way to the Turks and Caicos. 
 
 With maximum sustained winds of near 115 mph, Maria was expected to move near the British overseas territory and the southeastern Bahamas Thursday night and into Friday. 
 
 The center warned that Maria could regain some strength in the next day or so. 
 
 Maria left a trail of "total destruction" in Dominica, where the prime minister said at least 15 people have died. Two more people lost their lives as the result of the storm, one in the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe and two in Puerto Rico. 
 
 Forecasters said it remained too early to know how close Maria will move to the U.S. mainland. ||||| An overturned vehicle stands in a parking lot after the passing of Hurricane Maria, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Thursday, September 21, 2017. As of Thursday evening, Maria was moving off the northern coast... (Associated Press) 
 
 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."
– Hurricane Maria moved toward the Turks and Caicos islands early Friday as a weakened but still extremely dangerous Category 3 hurricane. The storm has left a trail of devastation behind it and caused at least 32 deaths on Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico, where the entire electrical grid was knocked out; it could take up to six months to restore power to all of the island's 3.5 million people. In the capital of San Juan, Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz says she hasn't seen devastation like it before. "The San Juan that we knew yesterday is no longer there," Cruz tells NBC News. "We're looking at four to six months without electricity." Puerto Rico's state power company stopped carrying out basic maintenance in recent years amid the island's debt crisis, meaning the storm hit infrastructure that was already in terrible shape, the AP reports. Residents are also low on food and water. Many are considering moves to the US mainland. "There's a humanitarian emergency here in Puerto Rico," Gov. Ricardo Rossello says. FEMA says starting Friday, there will be three or four daily military flights to the island carrying generators, food, and other supplies. Reuters reports that according to local media, the hurricane killed at least 15 Puerto Ricans, including eight who drowned in the Toa Baja area, where thousands were rescued from floods.