Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South)-Torrential rains continued in Puerto Rico early Thursday as Hurricane Maria moved away from the island, after destroying hundreds of homes and knocking out power for most of its 3.4 million residents.
The storm was approaching the eastern portion of the Dominican Republic, on its way to Turks and Caicos, the National Hurricane Center reported.
Hurricane Maria (below) and Hurricane Jose (top) are both seen in the Atlantic Ocean in this NOAA’s GOES East satellite image. (NASA/NOAA)
Maria’s core was about 70 miles north of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with wind gusts of 110 miles per hour, the hurricane center wrote in its 5 a.m. ET Thursday advisory.
Maria weakened to a Category 2 storm Wednesday evening, but regained major hurricane status by Thursday.
The massive power outage came after Hurricane Irma tore through the island weeks ago — leaving more than 1 million people without electricity. As of Maria’s arrival, more than 70,000 residents still had no electricity.
Felix Delgado, mayor of the northern coastal town of Catano, said 80 percent of the 454 homes in his neighborhood were destroyed.
Delgado said it’ll take “months and months and months and months” for Puerto Rico to recover from the devastating storm.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello urged people to have faith: “We are stronger than any hurricane. Together, we will rebuild.” He later asked President Donald Trump to declare the island a disaster zone, a step that would open the way to federal aid.
More than 11,000 people were in shelters, Rossello said.
In San Juan, Maria’s fierce winds toppled trees and ripped away outside materials of high-rise buildings in the city, while people calling local radio stations reported that doors were flying off hinges and a water tank flew away in the island’s southern region.-Fox
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