The Prime Minister of Caribbean island Dominica, Mr Roosevelt Skerrit, sent out a Facebook post a few minutes ago, which is not to be misunderstood: "We have lost all that money can buy,"
Just before it made landfall one hour ago on the tiny island, the hurricane strengthened to a "potentially catastrophic" category five storm.
Prime Minister Skerrit kept updating the outside world as to the devastation his island was suffering via internet. As the roof of his house blew off, he said his family was now "at the complete mercy of the hurricane".
Maria has winds of 160 miles per hour and is on the same path as Hurricane Irma was last week.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gusty winds currently occurring across <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Basseterre?src=hash">#Basseterre</a> due to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneMaria?src=hash">#HurricaneMaria</a>. <br><br> <a href="https://t.co/9yK5sLiRFy">pic.twitter.com/9yK5sLiRFy</a></p>— Abraham Jr. ® (@torrea40) <a href="https://twitter.com/torrea40/status/910014835076812800">September 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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There is no confirmation of any deaths or injuries yet from the first ever recorded category five hurricane to hit Dominica, but if the prime minister is to be believed, the worst should be feared indeed.
The closest island, Martinique has warned its residents for the coming of the monster storm, declaring a maximum level alert. Another French island in the area, Guadeloupe, has started evacuating altogether.
The following islands on the path of Maria have also released Hurricane warnings:
Puerto Rico: according to the latest predictions, it is expected Maria will make landfall as a category three hurricane early Tuesday morning. Puerto Rico was saved from the worst effect of Irma last week and has become a hub in the Caribbean for other islands to get help from. The Governor of US island Puerto Rico, Mr Ricardo Rossello urges his citizens to seek refuge for the approach of Maria.
The US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands: both these island chains have suffered severely from the passing of Irma last week. The British troops now stationed on the island to help rebuild the devastation of Irma say that they fear the debris left behind by Irma could pose extra threats.
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