Hurricane Maria brings life-threatening winds, destruction to Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (NEWS 1130) – The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism says people who want to visit the Caribbean territory should postpone their trip while authorities assess the effects of Hurricane Maria on St. Croix and recover from the damage to St. Thomas and St. John from Hurricane Irma.

The National Hurricane Center says Maria has lost its major hurricane status, dropping to a Category 2 storm after raking Puerto Rico. But forecasters expect some strengthening is in the forecast, and the storm could again become a major hurricane by Thursday.

An update from the Miami-based centre says a hurricane hunter plane clocked the top sustained winds of the storm at near 175 kilometers per hour with higher gusts later in the evening.
Maria’s fierce core was centred about 45 kilometres north-northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and is moving to the northwest.

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Forecasters say the dangerous storm system will continue moving away from the northwest coast of Puerto Rico, and is expected to pass offshore of the northeast coast of the Dominical Republic.

This is the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years.

At its peak, Hurricane Maria tore off roofs and doors, knocked out power across the entire island and unleashed heavy flooding in an onslaught that could plunge the U.S. territory deeper into financial crisis.

Leaving at least nine people dead in its wake across the Caribbean, Hurricane Maria blew ashore early Wednesday. It was expected to punish the island of 3.4 million people with life-threatening winds for 12 to 24 hours.

“Once we’re able to go outside, we’re going to find our island destroyed,” said Abner Gomez, Puerto Rico’s emergency management director. “The information we have received is not encouraging. It’s a system that has destroyed everything in its path.”