As the Caribbean and Central America continue to suffer throughout natural disasters, the storms don’t seem to be letting up. Category 4 Hurricane Maria is expected to dump a total of 12 to 18 inches of rain on Puerto Rico, before moving towards the Dominican Republican starting Wednesday night.
“On the forecast track, [Maria] would be the most destructive hurricane in Puerto Rico history,” tweeted Eric Blake, a forecaster at the Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, entering through the southeast point of its capital, San Juan. With 155 mph winds, it completely swallowed the entire island with the biggest storm the island has had since 1932. The entire island is without electricity, with water and sewage systems wiped out and 50% of the capital is completely flooded.
“This is total devastation,” said Carlos Mercader, a spokesman for Puerto Rico’s governor. “Puerto Rico, in terms of the infrastructure, will not be the same. … This is something of historic proportions.”
Maria has killed seven people on the Caribbean island of Dominica and two in Guadeloupe. As the hurricane continues to wreck an island that is already facing tumultuous debt and scarcity in resources, we can only hope that it receives all the help it can get.
