Hurricane Maria, strengthened into a rare Category 5 storm bearing down on the tiny island nation of Dominica while on a likely collision course with the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria, strengthened into a rare Category 5 storm, as it churned through the eastern Caribbean, bearing down on US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Wednesday. AP
The fourth major Atlantic hurricane of the year, has been upgraded to the pinnacle of the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale as its maximum sustained winds reached 215 kilometre per hour. AP
Emergency officials said that the hurricane destroyed power lines on the entire island of Puerto Rico. The US National Hurricane Center said “catastrophic” flooding was sweeping parts of the island. Reuters
Intense flooding was reported across the territory, particularly in San Juan, the capital, where many residential streets looked like rivers. AP
Maria ripped roofs from buildings and turned low-lying roadways into rushing debris-laden rivers as it cut a diagonal swath across the island. It is now expected to move near the coasts of the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos islands and then drifting more eastwards. Reuters
United States Army soldiers at Virgin Islands too were evacuated in advance of Hurricane Maria. Maria is the most powerful hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in 85 years, since a Category 4 storm swept the US island territory in 1932. Reuters
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