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Hurricane Maria Makes Landfall on Puerto Rico as Residents Seek Refuge Hurricane Maria Makes Landfall on Puerto Rico as Residents Seek Refuge
(about 1 hour later)
SAN JUAN, P.R. — Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico as a powerful Category 4 storm early Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and winds of up to 155 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said. SAN JUAN, P.R. — Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico as a powerful Category 4 storm early Wednesday, cutting electricity and phone lines, sending thousands of people into shelters and raising the prospect of deadly floods.
Shortly after 6 a.m., the eye of the storm hit Yabucoa in southeastern Puerto Rico after crossing the United States Virgin Islands as a Category 5 storm. It had weakened slightly but remained “extremely dangerous,” the center said. As of 8 a.m., the eye of the storm was over eastern Puerto Rico, having hit Yabucoa in the southeast shortly after 6 a.m. Earlier, it crosed the United States Virgin Islands as a Category 5 storm then weakened slightly but remained “extremely dangerous,” with heavy rain and winds of up to 155 miles an hour.
As the hurricane moved in, residents across the island were awakened by the clamor of strengthening wind gusts.As the hurricane moved in, residents across the island were awakened by the clamor of strengthening wind gusts.
“We can hear the wind screaming,” one resident, Jerika Llano, wrote on Twitter. “This is impressive. I am blessed I live in a concrete house but the destruction is imminent.” Jerika Llano, 27, took refuge with three family members in her concrete home in Bayamón, a town near the island’s capital. She said the wind was “blowing hard and screaming.”
By 5 a.m. Wednesday, an estimated 11,229 people had taken refuge in the island’s 500 shelters, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said on Twitter. That represented a significant increase over the roughly 2,800 who had taken shelter by late Tuesday. “Almost all the trees have fallen, and I can see aluminum roofs flying,” she said. “The doors and gates vibrate because of the power of the gusts.”
The storm has brought new misery to a region that has seen two other powerful hurricanes in recent weeks. Residents of the Virgin Islands whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Irma two weeks ago were urged by the government to find new shelters to ride out Maria. The National Weather Service warned that “extremely dangerous floods are imminent along the Río de la Plata,” the island’s longest river.
The storm began pounding the Virgin Islands on Tuesday evening, and a flash-flood alert was sent to residents’ cellphones at 10:05 p.m., Gov. Kenneth Mapp said. He warned that hurricane-strength winds were likely to batter the islands until Wednesday morning. By 5 a.m., an estimated 11,229 people had taken refuge in the island’s 500 shelters, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said on Twitter. That represented a significant increase over the roughly 2,800 who had taken shelter by late Tuesday.
The core of the storm passed south of the United States Virgin Islands, with the outer eyewall lashing St. Croix, the hurricane center said. As of 7 a.m., phone lines had begun to come down across the island and about 884,000 households were without power — about 59 percent of households served by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.
The storm has brought new misery to a region that has seen two other powerful hurricanes, Irma and Jose, in recent weeks. Residents of the Virgin Islands, whose homes were damaged by Irma two weeks ago, were urged to find new shelters to ride out Maria.
The storm began pounding the Virgin Islands on Tuesday evening, and a flash-flood alert was sent to residents’ cellphones at 10:05 p.m., Gov. Kenneth E. Mapp of the United States Virgin Islands said. He warned that hurricane-strength winds were likely to batter the islands until Wednesday morning.
The core of the storm passed south of the Virgin Islands, with the outer eyewall lashing St. Croix.
“There was howling in every part of this house,” said Ernice Gilbert, a resident on the east side of the island. “In my area, the winds were ferocious. But the bulk of the winds were expected to hit strongest in the southwest.”
At one point, he said, the rafters of his house began “cracking,” and part of his wall had cracked. The strong winds forced him to barricade his doors with couches, Mr. Gilbert, a local journalist, said.
“That was the scariest portion of the ordeal for me,” he said by telephone.
Maria had battered the island nation of Dominica a day earlier. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit described the damage as “mind boggling” and wrote on Facebook that he had to be rescued after winds ripped the roof off his official residence. But little information has emerged since then, with the storm having taken out phone and power lines on Dominica.Maria had battered the island nation of Dominica a day earlier. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit described the damage as “mind boggling” and wrote on Facebook that he had to be rescued after winds ripped the roof off his official residence. But little information has emerged since then, with the storm having taken out phone and power lines on Dominica.
Though the storm’s maximum sustained winds dropped somewhat overnight, the authorities warned early Wednesday that it was still “potentially catastrophic,” bearing “fury aimed at Puerto Rico and Vieques,” a southeastern Puerto Rican island.Though the storm’s maximum sustained winds dropped somewhat overnight, the authorities warned early Wednesday that it was still “potentially catastrophic,” bearing “fury aimed at Puerto Rico and Vieques,” a southeastern Puerto Rican island.
“Right now Maria is a bit weaker because the very tight circulation of the previous eyewall is suddenly disappearing as the outer eyewall replaces it,” said Anthony Sagliani, meteorological operations manager at weather data company Earth Networks.“Right now Maria is a bit weaker because the very tight circulation of the previous eyewall is suddenly disappearing as the outer eyewall replaces it,” said Anthony Sagliani, meteorological operations manager at weather data company Earth Networks.
The storm will be “a powerful hurricane at landfall regardless but might not be as powerful as it could be,” he said.The storm will be “a powerful hurricane at landfall regardless but might not be as powerful as it could be,” he said.
In the town of Cataño in northern Puerto Rico, several houses lost their zinc roofs and the roof of a church was ripped apart, Felix Delgado Montalvo, the town’s mayor, said on a local radio station.In the town of Cataño in northern Puerto Rico, several houses lost their zinc roofs and the roof of a church was ripped apart, Felix Delgado Montalvo, the town’s mayor, said on a local radio station.
“My message now is not to leave your houses until the situation is over,” he told listeners.“My message now is not to leave your houses until the situation is over,” he told listeners.
Residents of Puerto Rico braced for a more direct hit than from Irma, which killed three people and knocked out power to many. Widespread outages of Puerto Rico’s creaky electrical network were expected again once Maria arrives in force Wednesday.Residents of Puerto Rico braced for a more direct hit than from Irma, which killed three people and knocked out power to many. Widespread outages of Puerto Rico’s creaky electrical network were expected again once Maria arrives in force Wednesday.