As residents of Puerto Rico brace for Hurricane Maria -- which slammed into the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm Monday night -- Puerto Rico's governor is calling the storm "the biggest and potentially most catastrophic hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in a century."
Maria, which has left at least two dead in the Caribbean, is forecast to "remain an extremely dangerous Category 4 or 5 hurricane" as it approaches Puerto Rico early Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Maria could bring life-threatening flooding and mudslides, as well as a 6- to 9-foot storm surge, to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Dangerous flash flooding and mudslides are also possible, especially in mountainous regions in Puerto Rico.
As of 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Maria's maximum
sustained winds had decreased to 160 mph, but it remained a Category 5 storm. Maria's maximum sustained winds had been as high as 175 mph during the day Tuesday. It was located 35 miles west of St. Croix and 70 miles southeast of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. The storm is expected to reach the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning.
Comment: The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that the core of Hurricane Maria still remains dangerous, despite being downgraded to a category 2 hurricane and that "Maria could regain major hurricane status by Thursday" as "some strengthening" is forecast for the next day or two. Conditions are now deteriorating over eastern Dominican Republic with winds of up to 110mph (175kmph), according to the NHC.
A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for Puerto Rico, Culebra, Vieques and part of the Dominican Republic - from Cabo Engano to Puerto Plata - as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas.
Meanwhile aerial footage shows the massive damage sustained by the Caribbean island of Dominica from Hurricane Maria. Seven people have so far been confirmed dead in Dominica, but that toll is expected to rise as rescue teams make their way to inaccessible parts of the island.