Hurricane Maria heads towards Dominican Republic

By Canberk Yuksel

NEW YORK

Hurricane warnings were in effect early Thursday for the northern coast of the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos islands as they braced for Hurricane Maria.

The Category 3 storm was moving northwest at 9 miles per hour (15 kilometers per hour), packing maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). It is expected to pass north of the Dominican Republic into the open sea.

Maria ravaged Puerto Rico on Wednesday as the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory in nearly 90 years, leaving all of its 3.5 million residents without power and sending tens of thousands into shelters.

President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for Puerto Rico late Wednesday, mandating much-needed federal assistance for recovery efforts. He said Thursday that the U.S. territory was “absolutely obliterated” by Maria and planned to visit the island.

Flash floods continued to affect parts of Puerto Rico as the hurricane's trailing rainbands dropped heavy rainfall.

"We could see 4-8 inches of additional rainfall through Saturday that will exacerbate the ongoing flash-flooding situation that’s occurring over the entire island," said senior NHC hurricane specialist Michael Brennan.

Maria is the second devastating storm the U.S. territory has endured this hurricane season after Irma took its toll two weeks ago.