REUTERS – EPA
Hurricane Maria is more powerful than Irma and could bring an extreme threat of life
Hurricane Maria is heading for a direct hit on Puerto Rico on Wednesday and the NHC said the storm could be catastrophic.
Most of Puerto Rico’s 3.4million residents live on the eastern half of the island where forecasters worry will get the brunt of Hurricane Maria’s force.
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More than 45,000 homes and businesses are still without power after Hurricane Irma two weeks ago, and Maria is set to be even more powerful.
Hurricane Maria strengthened from a tropical storm into a category 5 event within a single day.
It is expected to bring 18 inches of rain and a storm surge could reach nine feet.
Residents have been urged to flee to 500 shelters set up across Puerto Rico.
A 10pm update from the NHC said that Maria is currently registering winds of 175mph and is 160 miles south-east of San Juan.
The Agence France-Presse reports that as the storm heads towards the US Virgin Islands, the outer rain bands and high winds are already being felt.
St John Island was also hit by Irma two weeks ago and locals have reported seeing trees dramatically swaying and rain pouring sideways.
GETTY
People have been told to flee to the 500 shelters set up across Puerto Rico
Former US Virgin Islands senator for the St Croix Judi Buckley travelled to St John Island to help with the Irma relief effort but she is now caught up in Maria.
She told Agence France-Presse: “Rain is coming through sideways and the trees are swaying.
“We have become the Irma relief hub and our brothers and sisters across the pond can’t afford for us to be crippled.”
St Croix is the largest US Virgin Island and is home to around 50,000 people.
The storm has already obliterated parts of Dominica and killed at least one person in Guadeloupe.
REUTERS
Workers remove fallen tree branches from a road in the Guadeloupe island which was hit by Maria
West Indies and Caribbean News said that 90 per cent of buildings on Dominica have been destroyed.
There are reports that at least six people have been killed.