After pounding the Caribbean island of Dominica, Hurricane Maria has gathered strength as it nears Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The hurricane is the second maximum-strength storm to hit the region this month.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Chamoiseau
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Forecasters warned of "potentially catastrophic" impact as Hurricane Maria headed towards the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said the storm is expected to pass "near or over" the Virgin Islands overnight and hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday. The center also upgraded the storm to an "extremely dangerous Category 5."
The NHC also cautioned about a storm surge that could raise water levels between 7 to 11 feet (2.1 to 3.4 meters) above normal tide levels. Those conditions could lead to life-threatening floods and mudslides.
Forecasters recorded maximum sustained winds of 165 mph (265 kmh)
US President Donald Trump has declared an emergency on the US territories in the hurricane's path and authorized the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate disaster relief efforts.
Floods, landslides in Dominica
Maria barreled over the island of Dominica late on Monday, causing landslides and destroying homes.
Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit posted on his Facebook page that the storm had blown the roof off his house and that there were initial reports of "widespread devastation."
"We have lost all what money can buy and replace," he said.
Maria also caused a landslide on Dominica, a former British colony between the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe.
European islands issue early response
Britain, France and the Netherlands, whose overseas territories were left devastated by Irma and stand to be barraged again by Maria, have all stepped up efforts to guarantee locals' safety.
"We are planning for the unexpected, we are planning for the worst," said Chris Austin, head of a UK military task force set up to deal with Irma.
French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told the Agence France-Presse news agency that he would order 110 more soldiers to be deployed in and around the island of St. Martin, which is split between France and the Netherlands, to shore up security and distribute aid.
More often, more intense
The latest severe storm warnings come just a week after Irma whipped up record winds of up to 295 kilometers per hour for more than 33 hours straight as it pounded the Caribbean and Florida, killing around 60 people and leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.
An earlier hurricane, Jose, was gaining intensity over the North Atlantic late Monday, prompting tropical storm warnings for coastal areas in the US states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Many scientists argue that the increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes like Irma, and Harvey before it, is due to the storms drawing greater energy from the ever-warming oceans — almost certainly a consequence of climate change.
Hurricane Irma rips through Caribbean and US southeastern states
Hurricane Irma cut a swathe of destruction as it roared through the Caribbean and southeast US. Tropical islands were turned into piles of rubble while some 6.5 million people in Florida have been left without power.
Image: Reuters/A. Baez
Strongest-ever Atlantic storm
Hurricane Irma has killed dozens of people and injured many more since the record-breaking storm roared over the French Caribbean islands. With its powerful winds having topped 185 miles (295 kilometers) per hour, Irma is the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the US National Hurricane Center based in Miami.
Image: Reuters/C. Barria
Saint Martin: Death and destruction
The Franco-Dutch island of Saint Martin suffered the full fury of the storm. Rescuers on the French side said at least eight people died and some 95 percent of homes were destroyed. The Netherlands and France both sent troops and medics to help with rescue efforts.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. v. Es
Barbuda: 'Total carnage'
Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Barbuda was a "scene of total carnage." Officials on the tiny two-island nation said it will seek international assistance. He further reported that about half of Barbuda's 1,800 population were homeless while nine out of 10 buildings had suffered damage, many of them destroyed.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Jno-Baptiste
Puerto Rico: Without power, homes
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said about two-thirds of the island's 3.4 million inhabitants lost electricity in the storm. Shelters have been set up for about 62,000 people whose homes were destroyed.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/dpa/C. Giusti
Cuba: Devastation, once again
Irma crawled across Cuba's northern coast, bearing down on the island nation as a Category 5 hurricane. It left thousands of homes, businesses and hotels flooded. The hurricane's storm surge topped Malecon, the iconic seaside boulevard in the capital of Havana. Cuba is often hit by hurricanes that strike the Caribbean.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/R.Espinosa
Florida: Catastrophic winds
Irma made US landfall in Key West, then again on Marcos Island on the US state of Florida's Gulf Coast. The storm brought several tornadoes, which leveled homes in the eastern city of Palm Bay. In Miami, hurricane-force winds brought down two cranes. State authorities have vowed a swift response to aid victims of the hurricane and cleanup its devastation.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/O.Sentinel
Georgia and South Carolina: Irma downgraded to tropical depression
Although Georgia and South Carolina avoided the worst of Irma's destructive path, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency after 340,000 were left without electricity and four people died. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, one the world's busiest airports, was forced to cancel some 800 flights on Monday.
Image: Reuters/T. Chappell
Wildlife: Another victim
The destructive storm also left other victims in its wake, namely marine wildlife. The hurricane caused water levels to rise and fall much quicker than normal, leaving some animals, like this manatee, behind to die on land.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M.Sechler
Irregular hurricane season
Irma follows hot on the heels of Hurricane Harvey which devastated large swathes of Texas and Louisiana in late August. Before Irma made landfall in the US, two other storms, Jose in the Atlantic Ocean and Katia in the Gulf of Mexico, were upgraded to hurricane status. Weather forecasters believe Jose could still pose a threat to the continental US.
