Maria thrashes Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic

Maria thrashes Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic



Millions of Puerto Ricans are now without power after Hurricane Maria ripped through the island - crumbling the electric grid and paralyzing the territory with landslides, flooding and downed trees.

And the full of extent of the damage is still unclear as rescue teams have not been able to make communication with major parts of the island which were cut off by the storm.

Maria moved north after pummeling the island through Wednesday night- but flooding continued through Thursday afternoon, leaving many San Juan streets looking like small rivers.



The Category 4 hurricane had sustained winds of 155mph through Wednesday - and was the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in over 80 years. So far at least 19 people have been killed throughout the Caribbean - one on the US territory.



Mayor of the capital Carmen Yulin Cruz said the devastation is like nothing she has ever seen, telling MSNBC 'The San Juan that we knew yesterday is no longer there.'

Now the storm, which has  downgraded to Category 3 with maximum sustained winds at 120mph, is pounding the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic. Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas are also bracing themselves for impact as the US National Hurricane Center says the storm could regain Category 4 status by the time it reaches the islands.



US President Donald Trump issued a disaster declaration for Puerto Rico on Thursday morning in response to news about Maria's devastation throughout the island - which left all 3.4million residents without power.

He described Puerto Rico as in 'very, very, very perilous shape' and said US emergency authorities were starting to work on helping in the recovery.

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.

Police were on the streets to warn people they must respect a 6pm to 6am curfew imposed by the governor to ensure everyone's safety. People resorted to rafts and kayaks to get around because flooding made many roads remained impassable.



'Months and months and months and months are going to pass before we can recover from this,' Felix Delgado, mayor of the northern coastal city of Catano, told The Associated Press.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello has called Maria 'the most devastating storm of the century.'



At times throughout the night the winds were so strong that concrete balconies were crushed and entire buildings were decimated.

The island's emergency management director Abner Gomez said the storm will be 'a historic event' for Puerto Rico.



Though it has moved out to sea, early on Thursday morning the National Weather Service declared a flash flood warning for the entire island as torrential rains continue to pour. The rain has turned some roads in the US territory into muddy brown rivers.



Puerto Rico is expected to receive an additional 20 to 30 inches through Saturday, and the National Weather Service has warned people on the island to get to higher ground 'NOW'.

Tens of thousands of people have fled to shelters.

Rescuers are now fanning out all over the island in an attempt to reach any stranded victims.



Maria has now been downgraded to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph - though the US National Hurricane Center says some strengthening is possible in the next day or so.

The storm is now lashing the northeastern Dominican Republic, and surrounding islands are preparing for it to strengthen again to Category 4 or higher.