Puerto Rico, still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma, is now bracing for Hurricane Maria as it heads towards the US territory, Reuters reported. The Category 5 storm is expected to strike Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.
Maria made a landfall in Dominica in the Caribbean on Tuesday, hitting many homes, including Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit’s official residence. “The winds are merciless! We shall survive by the grace of God,” Skerrit said on Facebook. “My roof is gone. I am at the complete mercy of the hurricane. House is flooding.”
Electricity supply to more than 1 million customers of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority was affected after Irma, and more than 45,000 homes and businesses are still without power.
The island has not seen a Category 5 storm since San Felipe II in 1928 that killed more than 300 people. “This is an unprecedented atmospheric system,” said Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló.
US Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp said Maria would pass within 16 km of St Croix, which has a population of 55,000 and escaped the wrath of Hurricane Irma. “Just remember this is a live animal,” Mapp warned residents of the Virgin Islands. He suggested that those who did not want to move into emergency shelters should climb into their bathtubs and pull a mattress over them to stay safe.
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