'WE HAVE LOST ALL': Category five Maria batters Dominica as other islands urged to prepare for 'life-threatening conditions'

Last updated: September 19, 2017 at 22:28 pm

VISIT THE WIC NEWS FACEBOOK PAGE FOR THE LATEST ON HURRICANE MARIA

Hurricane Maria has once again reached category five strength hours after it caused “widespread damage” as it passed over Dominica.

One person has been confirmed dead in Guadeloupe with two others missing, and the island of Dominica has been unreachable for since late last night (local time).

Maria is currently making its way towards Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

In a statement this morning before contact was lost, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said: “So far we have lost all that money can buy and replace.”

The storm was a category five hurricane when it made landfall on the Nature Isle at around 9pm local time, with winds of 160mph (260kmph). Since then it was downgraded to category four, but this has risen again

"Reports from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are near 165 mph (270 kmph) with higher gusts," said the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

"Maria is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous category four or five hurricane as it moves near or over the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico."

The most recent update locates it as around 175 miles (185km) southeast of Puerto Rico.

So far WIC News has received no reports of death or injury from Hurricane Maria but this is likely to change as the full picture becomes clear.

“The situation is really grave,” said Dominica Consul General Barbara Dailey, speaking from New York.

WIC News understands that before contact was lost with the island, at least 70% of homes had lost their roofs, although this has not been confirmed.

Plan for Tuesday

The Antigua Met Service says that rainfall across Dominica has been "off the chart" for the last 24 hours, receiving over 150mm (5.9 inches).

The prime minister posted live updates of the hurricane’s progress during the evening, writing on Facebook soon after Maria’s landfall that his home had suffered damage: “My roof is gone. I am at the complete mercy of the hurricane. House is flooding.”

After being rescued, Skerrit wrote: "My greatest fear for the morning is that we will wake to news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains.”

Since then there has been no official word from the Dominica government, although Skerrit did tell a CNN interviewer that the "first order of business will be search and rescue".

ALL SYSTEMS DOWN: Hurricane Maria disaster leaves Dominica uncontactable

WIC News has contacted our reporter on the ground in Dominica.

One Dominican resident described the wind as "radical" and said the rain was "constant" during the night.

Anthony Astaphan, senior legal counsel to the government, also lost the roof of his home. He took to social media to update friends and followers that his "upstairs is completely gone" and there was two inches of water in the house.

Next for Hurricane Maria

The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are bracing themselves for Maria's next landfall.

The storm is moving west-northwest at 10mph (17kmph), slightly faster than earlier today. It is heading roughly along the same path as Irma, which devastated the region just two weeks ago.

WATCH: Hurricane Maria brings flooding to Martinique

That hurricane, which was also category five as it ripped through the region, left at least 37 people dead and caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage. [caption id="attachment_5803" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Destruction in Martinique.[/caption]

Martinique has been hit by power cuts but appears to have escaped serious damage.

WIC News has been getting reports of landslides, intermittent power and flooding in St Lucia.

Hurricane warnings are also in effect for Puerto Rico, the British and US Virgin Islands, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat while hurricane watches are in place for St Martin, St Barthelemy, Saba, St Eustatius and Anguilla.

Mark Brantley, the foreign affairs minster for St Kitts and Nevis, said earlier this morning that the federation was "being pummelled by howling winds and torrential rain.

"We pray for the morning sun and its revelations."

The clean-up post-Irma continues on the French Caribbean island of Saint Martin to limit the risk of flooding and projectiles as Hurricane Maria approaches.

Puerto Rico is preparing for Maria to make landfall later today, which is expected to have become a category three hurricane by then. It is still predicted to dump up to 25 inches of rain on the US territory.