Hurricane Maria is now a category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, but remains a powerful and deadly hurricane, according to the U.S. NOAA National Hurricane Center.
During its 5 a.m. update, the NHC said, “On the forecast track, the eye of Maria will make landfall in Puerto Rico in a couple of hours, cross Puerto Rico today, and pass just north of the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic tonight and Thursday.”
Maria was a Category 5 hurricane when it slammed into Dominica (pronounced DOM-i-NEE-kə) early Tuesday morning. After passing over the Eastern Caribbean island nation of 72,000 people, it was downgraded to a Cat 4 storm. On Twitter, the NY Times showed Maria as it passed over Dominica:
Maria began pounding the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix early on Wednesday, as it continued on its north-westerly path through the Atlantic Ocean. St. Croix had been impacted by Hurricane Irma, but was spared the catastrophic damage suffered by its sister islands, St. Thomas and St. John.
Maria is projected to make a direct hit on Puerto Rico at around 8 a.m. EST. The U.S. territory’s 3.5 million residents have been urged to seek shelter amid fears heavy rain could cause landslides and storm surges of up to 9 feet could swamp low-lying areas.
Maria has already claimed one life, as officials on the French island of Guadeloupe confirmed a person was killed by a falling tree, and another two are missing after their boat sank.
Damage on the British Virgin Islands is unclear after Maria skirted past early on Wednesday. “Our islands are extremely vulnerable right now,” the BVI’s premier Orlando Smith said in a statement, warning that the storm could turn debris left by Irma into dangerous projectiles.
The Fate of Dominica Post-Maria
The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Committee (CODEMA) said that first-aid supplies were delivered via a helicopter that landed in Dominica on Tuesday afternoon, after an unsuccessful attempt earlier in the day.
It also delivered essential communications equipment to the island, which has had no contact with the outside world since the hurricane hit.
The helicopter also took Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who lost his own house in the hurricane, on an aerial tour of the devastated island. The first video footage of the devastation left behind by Hurricane Maria has been trickling out via social media.
Source: Sport Diver
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