Hurricane Maria Makes Landfall In Dominica As 'Extremely Dangerous' category five Storm

Islands still reeling from Irma ar bracing for one more devastating hit.

Hurricane Maria “rapidly” intense and slammed into the Caribbean Island of Dominica as a strong class five hurricane late Mon evening.

The hurricane created landfall around 9:15 p.m. local time, with maximum sustained winds of one hundred sixty mph, according to the National hurricane Center.

In a series of posts to Facebook, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit aforesaid the winds were “merciless” and he “not dare look” outside.

At around 9:20 p.m. local time, Skerrit wrote: “My roof is gone. i'm at the complete mercy of the hurricane. house is flooding.” Shortly thenceforth he reported  that he had been saved.

Forecasters reported  Mon evening that Maria had fully grown into a class five hurricane moving west-northwest with most sustained winds of concerning 160 miles per hour.

The storm is “extremely dangerous,” consistent with the NHC.

Less than two weeks when hurricane Irma began carving a path of destruction across the Caribbean, many islands within the region ar bracing for Maria to take its toll within the next 2 days because it gains strength.

Army soldiers from the 602nd space Support Medical Company gather on a beach as they await transport on a Navy craft while evacuating in advance of hurricane Maria, in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. virgin islands, Sept.17, 2017.
“Additional rapid strengthening is forecast throughout the next forty eight hours, and Maria is expected to be a dangerous major hurricane because it moves through the Leeward Islands and therefore the northeastern caribbean sea,” the NHC said at 11 a.m. Monday.

Maria could approach Puerto RICO and the virgin islands by Wed. As several as twenty inches of rain ar possible across the region, and storm surge could reach as high as nine feet.

Those islands ar still reeling from deaths and damage within the wake of hurricane Irma. The storm claimed at least 3 lives in Puerto rico, at least four within the British virgin islands, and a minimum of 3 within the U.S. virgin islands, wherever electricity might not be restored  for months.

See the most recent NHC advisory for a complete list of hurricane watches and warnings in effect for Maria.

This article has been updated with additional details regarding hurricane Maria.