Hurricane Maria made landfall Wednesday in southeast Puerto Rico as a Category 4, making it the first hurricane of Category 4 strength or higher to hit the country in 85 years.
You couldn’t hit Puerto Rico more squarely. #Maria is centered directly on top of the island. First Category 4 there since 1932. pic.twitter.com/iB08f34hhw
— Eric Fisher (@ericfisher) September 20, 2017
WATCH: The current scene in San Juan as Hurricane Maria moves through Puerto Rico with winds topping 155 mph
(Via @GadiNBC) pic.twitter.com/o7NM3m3Hxw
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 20, 2017
When Maria made landfall near the city of Yabacua, the storm’s 155-mph winds were just 2 mph short of Category 5 status. The winds were so strong that they broke two National Weather Service radars on the island Wednesday.
A storm of this size and strength could not have come at a worse time for Puerto Rico. Many residents of the U.S. territory were still without power from Irma when Maria hit, and it could now be months before power is restored.
Here’s a first look at Maria’s damage in San Juan https://t.co/ucfheZgwDX
— Meg Wagner (@megwagner) September 20, 2017
Prior to making landfall in Puerto Rico, Maria had already devastated parts of the Caribbean. Reports indicate that 70 percent of the buildings on Dominica were destroyed.
WATCH: Aerial footage shows Hurricane Maria’s “total destruction” of Dominica https://t.co/Wxb8LARZ7s pic.twitter.com/b5NKPNYdYj
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 20, 2017
Unfortunately, it’s still too early to tell whether Maria will directly impact the U.S. East Coast, or how the storm could possibly interact with tropical storm Jose, which is still churning off the coast of New England.
Keep an eye on #Maria/Jose interaction next week; Seeing rising probabilities for #NYC to see Hurricane force winds. ECMWF = 48%; GEFS = 69% pic.twitter.com/HYVOX2szBY
— Michael Ventrice (@MJVentrice) September 20, 2017
Share this to remind people to keep praying for Puerto Rico and everyone in the path of Hurricane Maria!
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