Yahoo News Hurricane Maria: Storm lashes Dominican Republic after Puerto Rico is 'obliterated'
Maria lashes Dominican Republic, heading to Turks and Caicos
Donald Trump says Puerto Rico has been 'totally obliterated'
Maria has killed at least 10 as it rages through Caribbean
Island PM posts live Facebook updates as his roof is torn off
Double hit for countries still recovering from Hurricane Irma
Experts' view: Why have there been so many hurricanes lately?
Hurricane Maria thrashed parts of the Dominican Republic with heavy rain and high winds as it passed off its east coast on Thursday after making a direct hit on Puerto Rico that caused severe flooding and cut power to almost all the island.
Maria has killed at least 10 people as it raged through the Caribbean region, the second major hurricane to do so this month.
It ripped roofs off almost all structures on the island country of Dominica, where seven people were confirmed dead and the number is expected to climb when searches resume at daybreak.
Maria was ranked a Category 4 storm, near the top end of the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds of up to 155 miles per hour (250 km per hour), when it hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday as the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory in nearly 90 years.
It tore roofs from buildings, snapped power lines and turned roadways into torrents laden with debris as it cut a diagonal swath across the island.
The entire island of 3.4 million people was under a flash flood warning early on Thursday as the storm was forecast to dump 20 to 30 inches (50 to 76 cm) of rain on much of Puerto Rico through Friday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
The island's governor, Ricardo Rossello, said the only fatality immediately reported was a man struck by a piece of lumber hurled by high winds.
"It's nothing short of a major disaster," Rossello said in a CNN interview, adding it may take months for the island's electricity to be completely restored. Earlier he imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew for the island.
The streets of Puerto Rico's historic Old Town in the capital, San Juan, were strewn with broken balconies, air conditioning units, shattered lamp posts, fallen power lines and dead birds. Few trees escaped unscathed.
Watch live: Track path of Hurricane Maria
The island's recovery could be complicated by its financial woes as it faces the largest municipal debt crisis in U.S. history. Both its government and the public utility have filed for bankruptcy protection amid disputes with creditors.
Maria weakened as it went over land in Puerto Rico and picked up strength early on Thursday as it passed over warm Caribbean waters.
It was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) about 55 miles (90 kms) north of Punta Cana, on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, at 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT), the NHC said.
Punta Cana was hit with wind gusts of 58 mph (93 kph) and Maria was forecast to bring storm surges, when hurricanes push ocean water dangerously over normal levels, of up to 6 feet (1.83 m) in the Dominican Republic, it said.
Maria was expected to pick up strength as it churns toward the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas later on Thursday. Storm surges on the islands could be as high as 12 feet (3.66 m), it said.
Maria would then move north in the Atlantic Ocean over the weekend and there was no indication as to whether it would hit the continental United States.
It was classified a Category 5 storm when it struck the eastern Caribbean island nation of Dominica on Monday night with devastating force.
Based on an aerial survey, about 95 percent of roofs in Dominica, one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean with a population of about 73,000, were damaged or destroyed by Maria, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. It added damage to the island could be in the billions of dollars.
Hartley Henry, principal adviser to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that "the country is in a daze."
Passing early Wednesday just west of St. Croix, home to about 55,000 people, Maria damaged an estimated 65 percent to 70 percent of the island's buildings, said Holland Redfield, who served six terms in the U.S. Virgin Islands senate.
President Donald Trump declared a major disaster in the U.S. Virgin Islands and ordered federal aid to supplement recovery efforts, the White House said late on Wednesday.
The U.S. and British Virgin Islands were also hit this month by Hurricane Irma, which ranked as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record. It left a trail of destruction in several Caribbean islands and Florida this month, killing at least 84 people.
Photos posted on Facebook from St. Croix by Virgin Islands' local public television station, WTJX-TV, showed fallen utility and telephone poles, tangled wires, uprooted trees and storm shutters ripped from buildings.
In the French territory of Guadeloupe, many roads were blocked and 40 percent of the population was without power, France's overseas territories ministry said.
Trump: Puerto Rico 'obliterated' by Hurricane Maria
Donald Trump has been speaking about the hurricane and just said Puerto Rico has been "totally obliterated" by Maria.
Trump told reporters during a meeting with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko that he would visit Puerto Rico at some point. He did not specify a time.
He described Puerto Rico as in "very, very, very perilous shape" and said U.S. emergency authorities were starting to work on helping in the recovery.
Severe flooding and heavy damage in Dominica
Dominica Tourism Minister Robert Tonge is describing his badly damaged country three days after Hurricane Maria made landfall in the eastern Caribbean island.
An update from Tonge says the capital of Roseau still has severe flooding and there's heavy damage throughout the city.
The hospital and a community center both lost roofs. One of two airports serving the country is inoperable while the other is expected to be operational in the coming days. An estimated 95 per cent of the roofs were blown off in some towns, including Mahaut and Portsmouth.
There are at least nine communities that no one has any information about because they're cut off and most communications are down in the country.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is expected to speak from the island of Antigua later Thursday.
A number of people remain missing.
Trump approves disaster declaration for Puerto Rico
President Donald Trump has approved a disaster declaration for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria slammed into the U.S. territory.
The declaration makes federal funding available to Puerto Ricans affected by the storm, which has knocked out power across the entire island Wednesday and caused flooding and landslides.
Maria has killed at least 10 people across the Caribbean.
Hurricane Maria batters the Dominican Republic
The Category 3 hurricane has maximum sustained winds near 115 mph (185 kph). It's centered about 95 miles (150 kilometers) north-northwest of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and is moving northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).
It is expected to pass near the Turks and Caicos later in the day.
'An historic event for Puerto Rico'
Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans stunned by Maria after it knocked out power for the whole island and paralysed the US territory with landslides, flooding and downed trees vowed to slowly rebuild amid an economic crisis as rescue crews fanned out Thursday.
The extent of the damage is unknown given that dozens of municipalities remained isolated and without communication after Maria hit the island Wednesday morning as a Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in over 80 years.
Uprooted trees and widespread flooding blocked many highways and streets across the island, creating a maze that forced drivers to go against traffic and past police cars that used loudspeakers to warn people they must respect a 6pm to 6am curfew imposed by the governor to ensure everyone's safety.
"This is going to be a historic event for Puerto Rico," said Abner Gomez, the island's emergency management director.
Maria could get worse
Hurricane Maria is continuing to lash the north-eastern Dominican Republic and could strengthen in the next day or so, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Thursday.
The category 3 hurricane is about 220 miles (350 km) southeast of Grand Turk Island, packing maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h) at present, the NHC said.
Maria is moving in a northwesterly direction at about 9 mph (15 km/h) and is expected to pass near the Turks and Caicos later on Thursday, it added.
Student rescues 90 birds from Hurricane Maria
There is at least one heartening story from the devastation wreaked on Puerto Rico.
A student in Puetro Rico used her house as a refuge for 90 birds displaced by Hurricane Maria as it ripped through the country, causing immense damage to habitats and homes.
The Twitter user, who goes by the name Michelle H, says she wanted to rescue one bird she saw stranded during the storm.
She took the animal into her house, along with some branches and leaves, only to be moved by the plight of more displaced birds.
Helena Horton has more here.
Maria regains major hurricane strength
Maria has regained major hurricane strength near the eastern Dominican Republic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale was about 55 miles (90 km) north of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h), the NHC said.
On the forecast track, the core of Maria will continue to move away from Puerto Rico during the next several hours, and then pass offshore of the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic early on Thursday, the Miami-based weather forecaster said.
British Virgin Islands escape the worst of Hurricane Maria
The British Virgin Islands have been "spared the worst" from Hurricane Maria, the governor has said, as the storm continues her path of destruction towards another UK overseas territory, PA reports.
Gus Jaspert, governor of the British Virgin Islands, which was wrecked by Hurricane Irma two weeks ago, said initial assessments suggested fresh damage is relatively low.
"We had high winds, we had a bit of flooding, and we had bit of a storm surge that knocked out some of the roads - but that thankfully we have been spared the worst", he said.
"We are very mindful that others and colleagues in the region felt its full force and our thoughts are very much with them at the moment."
Mr Jaspert said one of his first priorities on Thursday is to head to the other British Virgin Islands on a helicopter from RFA Mounts Bay to fully assess the damage there.
"We prepared for the worst, it hasn't been the worst which is good. We are back on to our recovery focus, which is our key thing," he said.
He revealed that there were no deaths, but that someone who was seriously injured during the latest hurricane is due to be medevaced off Virgin Gorda on Thursday.
'Postpone Caribbean trips'
The US 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 department says Hurricane Maria brought heavy rainfall and flooding to St. Croix when it passed to the south of the island and communications throughout the islands are limited.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties from the storm on St. Croix.
Guadeloupe: Natural disaster to be declared after Maria
France is to declare a natural disaster for Guadeloupe after the island was hit by Hurricane Maria, a move that is a vital step for victims to secure compensation, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said late on Wednesday.
Two people died and two were missing in the French territory after Maria ripped through the Caribbean on the heels of Hurricane Irma.
"Almost all the banana plantations on the island have been affected," Philippe said after an interministerial meeting. "Production has totally stopped."
Under French law, companies or individuals have 10 days in which to file a compensation claim with their insurers for loss in an event that has been officially declared a natural disaster. The declaration will be published on Saturday, Philippe said.
