Hurricane Maria Is 'Pounding' Puerto Rico -- News Updates

Daily Mail: Storm of the century: Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico as a deadly Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds - and it's the strongest storm to hit the island in 85 years

* Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico around 6:15am Wednesday
* It's expected rage across the island for most of the day
* Maria is the first Category 4 hurricane to hit the island since 1932
* Most of the island is still without power after a brush with Irma earlier this month
* More than 4,400 people were in shelters on Puerto Rico late Tuesday night
* The National Hurricane Center says little change in strength is expected in the coming 48 hours
* The storm is next headed to the Dominican Republic, where it's expected to strike tonight
* The Turks & Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas will see hurricane conditions Thursday evening
* Before hitting Puerto Rico, Maria battered St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands for about five hours overnight
* So far, Maria has been blamed for nine deaths - seven on Dominica and two on Guadeloupe
* The hurricane made it's first landfall on Dominica as a Category 5 storm on Monday
* An estimated 70 per cent of homes on the island lost their roofs

The strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico since the Great Depression pummeled the island on Wednesday, tearing off roofs and doors, toppling cell towers and unleashing heavy flooding in an onslaught that could deepen the U.S. territory's financial crisis.

Maria, which left at least nine people dead in its wake across the Caribbean, blew ashore in the morning in the southeast coastal town of Yabucoa as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph. It was expected to punish the island with life-threatening winds, storm surge and rain for 12 to 24 hours.

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Hurricane Maria Is 'Pounding' Puerto Rico -- News Updates

Hurricane Maria Cone -- NOAA
Hurricane Maria Live Updates: Puerto Rico Suffers a Direct Hit With Worries of Floods: Live Updating -- New York Times
Hurricane Maria: record flooding in Puerto Rico as Dominica reports seven dead – latest updates -- The Guardian
Hurricane Maria hits Puerto Rico after slamming Dominica -- AP
Hurricane Maria blasts Puerto Rico with high winds and flooding -- Reuters
Hurricane Maria slams into Puerto Rico with 155-mph winds, sending thousands to shelters -- Los Angeles Times
'Storm of the century' Maria pummels Puerto Rico -- AFP
Hurricane Maria pounds Puerto Rico after killing 7 people in Dominica -- CNN
Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico -- BBC
Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico, death toll rises to nine in Caribbean -- ABC News Online
Hurricane Maria hits Puerto Rico -- DW
Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico -- Al Jazeera
Hurricane Maria Hits Puerto Rico, First Category 4 Storm In 85 Years -- International Business Times