Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Hurricane Maria slams Puerto Rico with high rains

1114197
1114197
minus
plus

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on Wednesday as the strongest storm to hit the US territory in nearly 90 years, ripping windows from their fixtures and sending debris hurtling through the streets as it approached the capital, San Juan.


Maria, the second major hurricane to roar through the Caribbean this month, made landfall near Yabucoa, on the southwest coast of the island of 3.4 million people. Thousands of people were seeking safety in shelters.


Carrying winds of 233 kph and driving high storm surges, Maria’s eye was located about 25 km southwest of San Juan at 9 am ET (1300 GMT), the US National Hurricane Centre said.


Buildings trembled as the storm battered San Juan and sent torn off pieces of metal barricades clattering along streets.


Broken windows, mangled awnings and gutters dangled haphazardly from buildings or were ripped off entirely. Toilets bubbled noisily and belched foul air as the hurricane rumbled through the city’s water and sewage lines.


On its passage through the Caribbean, Maria killed at least one person in the French territory of Guadeloupe and devastated the tiny island nation of Dominica.


Hurricane Irma, which ranked as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, also left a trail of destruction in several Caribbean islands and Florida this month, killing at least 84 people in the Caribbean and the US mainland.


“We have not experienced an event of this magnitude in our modern history,” Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said in a televised message on Tuesday.


“Although it looks like a direct hit with major damage to Puerto Rico is inevitable, I ask for America’s prayers,” he said, adding the government had set up 500 shelters.


Maria was expected to dump as much as 25 inches of rain on parts of Puerto Rico, the NHC said. Storm surges, when hurricanes push ocean water dangerously over normal levels, could be up to 9 feet.


The heavy rainfall could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, it added. — Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon