The eye of Hurricane Maria was creeping toward the Turks and Caicos Islands on Friday morning as millions of people in Puerto Rico struggled to rebound from the deadly and destructive storm.
As of 8 a.m. ET, Maria was about 30 miles from Grand Turk, the largest island in the British territory, the National Hurricane Center said. The Category 3 storm had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, but it was expected to weaken over the next two days, according to the hurricane center.
The storm was forecast to move near or just east of the Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas on Friday before swerving into the open Atlantic.
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Maria wreaked havoc in Puerto Rico, demolishing structures and knocking out all electricity. It could take half a year to restore power to the nearly 3.5 million people who live there, officials said.
The storm has been blamed for the deaths of 29 people, including 13 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.
With fierce winds and unrelenting rain, Maria toppled trees, shattered windows, and ripped roofs and doors off homes across the economically strained U.S. territory. It turned roads into raging rivers, deluging everything in sight.
Related: Puerto Ricans Face Devastated Landscape: ‘Nothing Can Prepare You for This’
San Juan resident Heidi Roque, 21, said the storm pulverized her home, shattering windows and mangling fences.
“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.”
For many islanders, the thought of months without electricity was worrisome.
“You cannot live here without power,” Hector Llanos told The Associated Press. Llanos, a 78-year-old retired New York police officer, said he planned to head for the U.S. mainland Saturday to live there temporarily.
“The only thing I have is a flashlight,” he told the AP, shaking his head. “This is never going to return to normal.”
President Donald Trump has approved a federal disaster declaration for Puerto Rico.
Before the storm even hit, Puerto Rico was reeling from years of financial turmoil. Its debt crisis crippled agencies, including the state power company, and infrastructure had been neglected.
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 Wednesday.